Twin Dragoons
by Solid Shark
Summary: A set of ninja twins find find themselves in Endiness. Very much an A.U. fic, rated PG13 for violence.
1. Chapter 1: Arrival

Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Dragoon or any characters except the Hunter family.

I sat up abruptly and glanced around. "What the? Where am I?"

"Kyle?"

I spun to my right. "Krista? You're here too?"

"Yeah. Wherever `here` is."

I carefully inspected the surroundings. "We seem to be in a swamp."

My sister looked around as well, tossing short black hair from side to side. "Looks like it. You still armed?"

"Of course I'm armed." Our parents had insisted that we sleep with our swords.

Krista nodded, looking relieved. "Good, `cause I think we've got company." She gestured to her left.

I followed her glance and stopped short. "Uh-oh." A group of men on horseback were headed our way. "They don't look friendly."

The leader stopped and leveled a spear at me. "Are you a dog of Basil!?"

I blinked. "What are you talking about?" I drew my katana. Krista followed suit.

The man was livid. "Are you drawing swords against Sandora!?"

What an idiot. We swiftly cut down both the soldier and his men. They were good, but no match for trained ninja. We were too fast.

When it was finished, I looked at Krista. "Basil? Sandora? What on Earth is going on?"

"Perhaps we can explain that."

We spun around and saw four warriors standing nearby. The one who had spoken was dressed in red armor and carried a large broadsword. Beside him was a slightly older man in silver and green. He bore a long spear. A girl in white stood behind the red man. She held a bow and arrow just below firing position. The last figure made me nervous. Although quite attractive, the woman had an aura of danger about her. In her hand was a sword that looked vaguely like a German rapier.

My eyes narrowed. "Who are you, anyway?"

The red-clad man smiled. "My name is Dart." He waved his hand at the blond knight. "This is Lavitz, head of Basil's First Knighthood." A nod to the brown haired archer. "My childhood friend, Shana, from the village of Seles." Dart gestured at the mysterious woman. "And this is Rose."

I exchanged a glance with Krista. This is seriously weird. "I'm Kyle Hunter, and this is my sister Krista. Pleased to meet you."

We shook hands all around, then Rose spoke to me. "How did a pair of teenagers learn to fight like that?"

I shrugged. "It's a very old style of combat. Given what just happened, I'm glad I can use it. It takes a great deal of training."

"How long have you been training in this style?" she asked.

"Since we were little," I answered. "It's a family tradition, so we were literally born into it."

Rose nodded with just a hint of approval. "May I see your sword?"

"Certainly." I passed it over.

While she examined it, I turned to Dart. "So we've just stumbled into a civil war?"

He nodded. "We're on our way to the Seventh Fort. It's just to the southwest."

I stood up. "We'll come, too." Krista nodded in firm agreement.

He frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. We can't sit on our duffs while the locals are suffering. Right, Krista?"

"Right!" She brandished her katana for emphasis.

Dart looked at his friends. "How about it, guys?"

Shana smiled. "The more, the merrier."

Lavitz nodded firmly. "We need all the help we can get."

"Definitely." Rose sounded so adamant that we all turned to her in surprise. "They may not be Dragoons, but they will make short work of anyone else," she continued.

Dart grinned. "Then it's settled. Welcome, Kyle, Krista."

"Thanks," we said in unison.

Dart nodded. "Alright, let's go."

As we resumed the trip to the fort, Rose returned my blade. "It is well made. Keep it close."

I smiled. "Don't worry. You sound just like my dad."

When we got to the Seventh Fort it was total chaos.

Dart yelled out, "Let's take them down!"

Krista and I drew our weapons and entered the fray, with decidedly unpleasant consequences for the Sandorans.

Krista parried one man's blade, then stabbed him in the gut. I took down a pair with my katana, then caught a third in the throat with a shuriken. "Don't these guys know when to give up!?"

By this time the Sandoran commander had appeared. Dart shouted, "I'll deal with him!" Then I got the biggest shock of my life.

Dart was suddenly covered in flames, and when they dissipated he was in crimson armor…and wings!?

He smiled coldly at the commander, then flew into the air and hit the ground with his sword. "Explosion!" The ground erupted in flames, and when they died down, the commander had been reduced to ash.

"Wha…What was that!?"

Rose spoke from behind me. "That was the Dragoon of the Red-Eye Dragon, the Dragoon of Fire."

"Dragoon?"

"Humans who rule Dragons. I am the Dragoon of Darkness."

Krista sounded equally shocked. "So you two have to come along in order to defeat the Dragon?"

Rose nodded. "Exactly. I think, however, that there is more going on than any of us realize."

I shook my head in amazement. "My life is getting weirder by the minute."

At that moment, Dart, Shana, and Lavitz came out of the fort.

Lavitz was angry. "No survivers."

"I'm not surprised," I responded. "Where to now, Dart?"

"Volcano Villude," he replied. "That's how we'll get to the Dragon."

We made it to Villude without incident, only to have things get much nastier. It was hot, for one thing, and there was the added problem of a creature Rose called the "Fire Bird".

About halfway through, Shana abruptly stopped. "What?"

"What is it, Shana?" Dart asked, concerned.

"Something's calling me." With that, she raced deeper into the volcano and stopped near what looked like a stone statue.

Rose recognized it instantly. "Virage."

"Virage?" I repeated.

"The Winglies' answer to Dragons during the Dragon Campaign. They are extremely dangerous."

Lavitz shrugged. "It looks like it's dead."

"Don't be so sure," Rose responded. "Virages aren't easy to kill."

Her words proved prophetic, for the Virage choose that moment to rise out of the lava. I looked up at it.

"It looks unfinished."

"It's a juvenile, but don't let that fool you," Rose shouted. "It still packs a wallop!"

Rose and Dart transformed while Krista and I stood side by side. Shana, apparently dazed, sat the battle out, so Lavitz watched over her.

Krista looked at me. "I think it's time we showed them our stuff, don't you?"

I nodded. "All right, freak, eat this! Twin Dragon Attack!!" We charged it, synchronizing our blows to the millisecond.

"Astral Drain!"

"Flameshot!"

It went on for over an hour. Finally, Dart, having reverted to human form, lunged forward, knocking the Virage into the lava.

Dart and Lavitz helped Shana away while Rose watched the Virage sink. 

Author's note: Solid Shark is allowing me to post stories via his site, as I have no internet access at the moment. If a story is mine it will be noted as a story by Dragoon Swordsman. I apologize for the shortness of the first few chapters. I was still getting the hang of the word processor when I wrote them. Input is welcome. 


	2. Chapter 2: The Jade Dragoon

Once again, I do not own Legend of Dragoon or any characters except the Hunters.

With the Virage defeated, we went on our way. However, our relief proved to be premature.

Krista saw it first. "Uh-oh, here comes Fire Bird!"

"Shana! Is the exit open!?" Dart yelled.

She looked around quickly. "No! It's in flames!"

Dart drew his sword. "I guess we gotta fight!"

Rose immediately transformed. "Death Dimension!" she cried.

At once, Fire Bird was engulfed in a wave of darkness. When the effect subsided, it was literally shaking with fear.

"That should weaken it!" Rose yelled.

"Rod Typhoon!" Lavitz spun in an intricate combination attack.

Dart remained in human form. "Crush Dance!" This from a five hit combo.

"Twin Dragon Attack!" Krista and I moved in with a series of swordstrikes. 

"Spear Frost!" Shana hurled the water item with lethal accuracy.

Suddenly, I was jolted out of my battle frenzy by Rose's voice. "_Demon's Gate!_"

"What the!?" A split appeared in the air, sucking Fire Bird to its doom.

"Huff, huff, it was a hot fight," Dart gasped.

On our way out of Villude, we encountered Dabas, a merchant we had saved earlier. "Hello, there!" he greeted us.

We bought some medicine from him, then went on to the Dragon's Nest.

Once inside, Rose stopped us. "Guys, have you noticed?"

Lavitz thought for a moment. "So that's why there's no guard. No normal human can take this poison for long."

Shana abruptly doubled over. "Ugh."

"What's wrong, Shana?" asked a concerned Dart.

"I just felt a little dizzy, that's all. I need to rest." With that, she ran deeper into the forest. We followed.

Once Shana recovered, we tried to cross a giant spider web…which promptly snapped, dropping us underground.

I got up, feeling somewhat dazed. "Everyone alright?"

Dart spoke first. "I think so."

Lavitz sounded annoyed. "Bruised, but functional."

"I'm okay," Shana said.

Rose just nodded curtly.

Krista stood. "Ready to fight."

A roar shook the area. "That's probably fortunate. Anybody know what that was?"

Rose spoke softly. "The Green Tusked Dragon, Feyrbrand."

"Wonderful. That means we'll probably have to fight a Dragoon, too," I muttered.

We all drank from a nearby spring, then Dart waved us up. "Come on, let's go."

The six of us climbed the fragile-looking plant, only to hear an irritated voice. "Who is it!?" The figure then saw Lavitz. "Lavitz Slambert! How ironic!"

Lavitz was infuriated. "Greham!!"

I glanced at him. "Lavitz, do you know this maniac?"

"He's a traitor to Basil. He killed my father!"

"Ouch."

"Greham! Prepare to die!!" Lavitz shouted.

The traitor smirked. "Can you kill a Dragoon?" With that, he transformed into the Jade Dragoon. Feyrbrand appeared at the same moment. "This is my newly obtained power!"

Rose glared at him. "It's not that easy. How did you get that Dragoon Spirit?"

"So someone in Basil knows of this. Fine." He paused dramatically. "His Majesty Doel got all of his power and intelligence from Emperor Diaz."

Rose snorted derisively. "Is this some kind of dream? Diaz died eleven thousand years ago."

"It is no dream," Greham retorted. "Eat this. Gaspless!"

Dart took the brunt of it, transforming by reflex. "Nice try. Final Burst!" The immense wall of flame slammed into the ex-knight.

Rose went next. "Astral Drain!"

"Flower Storm!"

"Twin Dragon Attack!"

"Ya!" This from Shana.

"Ugh, I got a deep gash." Greham dropped to the floor, one of Shana's arrows in his chest.

Feyrbrand was a tougher nut to crack, yet the combined strength of an archer, a knight, two ninja, and two Dragoons took him down in the end.

Lavitz cradled the dying Greham. "Why did you do this? You were an honorable man."

Greham coughed. "No one could be better than Servi . I began to grow afraid. Afraid of your father, and afraid of my own limits. If I could get a new power, I could be equal to, or surpass him. That new power…was the Dragoon Spirit of the Jade Dragon." He coughed again; I could tell that his end was near. "Lavitz, live strong. Now I can go…to be with Servi." With that, he slumped over, dead.

Rose shook her head. "He is lucky to be dead now. Greed for power causes only sorrow. He should have known that."

Suddenly, the Dragoon Spirit began to glow. It rose into the air, and drifted over to Lavitz. "What the!?"

Dart spoke slowly, "Lavitz, maybe you too are…"

Rose nodded in agreement. "Dart is right. You are now the Dragoon of the Jade Dragon, the Dragoon of Wind."

I grinned. "Congratulations, Lavitz."

Shana smiled. "Good for you, Lavitz." She abruptly keeled over.

"Shana, what's wrong?" Dart asked.

"I can't breathe."

"Too much poison!?" Lavitz said.

Krista spoke up, "Let's get her to Lohan. I think that's where Dabas was headed."

Dart agreed, and we began the long climb out.

Author's note: Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you like it. Just so you know, any more stories written by me but posted by Solid Shark will have D.S. at the end of the summary. Also, the AU aspects will start during the rescue of King Albert. Thanks. 


	3. Chapter 3: The Shrine and the White Silv...

The same disclaimers as last time.

The trip to Lohan was uneventful. On arrival, we took Shana to the house of a doctor named Sanator.

He examined her, then shook his head, "It seems that the mind is poisoned, not the body. The clinic cannot help her." Sanator sighed. "She may live a week, if she is lucky. I'm sorry."

"Isn't there anything we can do!?" Dart asked.

The doctor thought for a moment. "If we get some Dragoni Plant, she may survive."

We thanked him and went in search of the plant. Along the way, we ran into Dabas, the merchant we had encountered in Volcano Villude.

I asked him, "Do you have any Dragoni Plant?"

"No, but there might be some in the Shrine of Shirley."

"Really!? Thanks, Dabas!" Dart cried.

Outside Dabas's shop, we pondered our next move. "How do we get past the poisoned forest?" Lavitz asked.

I snorted. "Isn't it obvious? You three are Dragoons. You can fly over."

"You and Krista are normal Humans, however," Rose pointed out.

Krista grinned slyly. "We're ninja. We excel at moving through difficult terrain. We'll be fine."

Rose nodded. "Good. Now Lavitz must test his new powers."

Lavitz said, "Okay, here goes nothing." He spread his arms wide, and was surrounded by a whirlwind. When the wind died down, Lavitz stood there as the Jade Dragoon. "I like this."

Dart gave the word, "All right, let's go."

Just as we exited Lohan, we saw a nasty sight…another Dragon. It dove in on us, narrowly missing my head.

I shot a look at Rose. "What on Earth is that!?"

"The Star Dragon," she answered. "We are in trouble."

Krista and I gripped our swords. "Not if we can help it. Twin Dragon Attack!!" The synchronized sword combo almost tore the Dragon in half. With the beast's death, two shining gems drifted into our hands.

For the first time since we'd met her, Rose was visibly astonished. "How can this be!?"

"Is there a problem?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "Hardly. You call yourselves the Twin Dragons, now you are the Twin Dragoons."

Krista and I looked at each other, then transformed simultaneously. Her armor was black and dark blue, showing a trace of a Darkness element, whereas mine was black and crimson, showing more than a hint of Fire. 

I pivoted in midair. "So now we rule Dragons, too?"

Rose nodded. "In addition to your normal magics, Krista can use Darkness magic, and you can use Fire. Also, neither one of you has any elemental weakness. Plus, you two should have a deadly team-up attack."

"All right! On to the Shrine!"

The shrine was too boring for words. We got in, trounced a bandit named Drake, and got a big surprise.

Shirley, the spirit of the Shrine, questioned Dart, Lavitz, and Rose while Krista and I held back. They passed the test easily enough, and were rewarded with something better than Dragoni Plant…the Dragoon Spirit of the White Silver Dragon.

Shirley spoke to Rose one last time. "Farewell, Rose. I am looking forward to the day when our roads of fate cross again."

Rose looked at us. "Let's go."

The trip back to Lohan was made at breakneck speed. We made a beeline to the clinic on arrival, and got yet another major shock.

Dart laid the Dragoon Spirit on Shana's chest, and was about to draw the healing powers when it started to glow. "What the?"

When the light faded, Shana was sitting up. "Dart, what is this?"

"The Dragoon Spirit of the White Silver Dragon. You are now the Dragoon of Light," Dart answered.

We all held out our Dragoon Spirits, causing a brilliant flare of light.

Sanator held up his hands. "Excuse me, but it's too bright."

We put away our Spirits, and Shana stood up. "I'm feeling much better."

Sanator turned to Dart. "You should try the Hero Competition. It's being held here over the next couple of days."

Dart looked thoughtful. "Sounds interesting."

Author's note: I promise future stories will have more action. Whether I have Solid Shark continue to post my stories for me instead of waiting to get my own internet access running again will depend on the reception this story gets. One thing I forgot, indicates thoughts. Most of you probably figured that out already, but I thought I'd better make sure. Thanks---D.S. 


	4. Chapter 4: The Arena and King Albert

Once again, the same redundant disclaimer.

After we left Sanator's house, Dart turned to us and said, "I think I'll enter the Hero Competition. I haven't had a chance to really test my skills."

Shana smiled. "Good luck, Dart."

Lavitz agreed. "Just don't turn yourself into a Dragoon. It'll create a big mess," he added.

Rose decided not to enter. "I'll spoil it if I participate. I'm too good," she said.

Krista went shopping, while I looked around the arena. The place was dimly lit, with a variety of attractions in addition to the tournament. None of them interested me, however, so I decided to enjoy the show.

I caught up with Rose near the entrance. "How's Dart doing?"

"He has easily defeated all of his opponents thus far." she replied. "Soon it will be time for the finals."

"Who's his opponent?"

"A swordsman named Lloyd. He will be a very dangerous adversary."

Rose was right. When Dart moved in for his first attack, Lloyd simply dodged to the side. "Missed," he said with a smirk.

I gaped. "How did he do that!?"

Dart tried again. "Over here!"

Lloyd then charged, sending Dart into the air, and crashing to the ground.

Dart made another attack, and was once again avoided. "Too slow," Lloyd taunted.

There were a few more abortive strikes from Dart, then Lloyd said, "It's about time," and cut him down where he stood.

The announcer came out to introduce the top three. "First is Lloyd, the silver-haired swordsman." He moved to Dart. "Second is Dart, the 'young flame'." He walked to a dark-haired oldster. "Third is Haschel, the master of the Rouge Art."

Dart came over with the martial artist. "These are my friends," he said.

I shook Haschel's hand. "Congratulations. You're easily one of the best fighters I've ever seen."

"Thank you. Dart tells me that you are a force to be reckoned with."

I shrugged, a little embarrassed. "My sister and I are even deadlier as a team."

Dart raised his eyebrows. "Where is she, anyway?"

I shrugged again. "Shopping, I think. I have some things to take care of. I'll meet you at the town entrance."

I left the arena and headed for the weapon shop. Along the way, I ran into a very annoying merchant.

The man shouted at me, "Hey, you! I've got something you'll like!"

I ambled over out of curiosity. "What do you have?"

He produced a small stone. "This is the much-talked-about Shining Miracle Stone. It cures any illness or anxiety when it shines."

My eyes narrowed. "How much do you want for it?"

"I'm making a limited time offer of 1000 gold."

I fished in my pocket. "I'll take it."

"Good buy! Now you'll have good luck!"

I hurried back to the arena to look for Rose. I found her near the racetrack.

"Rose, do you know what this is?" I asked, holding out the stone.

Her jaw dropped. "This is the Dragoon Spirit of the Golden Dragon. Where did you find it?"

I rolled my eyes. "I bought it from a merchant for 1000 gold. He didn't have the slightest idea what he had. I, however, did."

She snorted with disgust. "Merchants. All they care about is money." Rose sobered. "We have bigger problems, though. The Sandorans have occupied Bale. King Albert is being held captive in Hellena Prison."

"Blast it! I hope we can mount a rescue."  
She nodded. "That's exactly what we're going to do. Also, Haschel is coming with us."

"That is a very good thing. He may not be a Dragoon, but he'll make short work of the sort of scum that work in places like Hellena."

"My thoughts exactly. You'd better find Krista."

"Got it."

I found Krista near Dabas's shop. "Come on, Sis, we've gotta move."

She followed, looking perplexed. "What's going on, Kyle?"

"King Albert's been kidnapped. We're going to rescue him."

We assembled at the town entrance, then made our way to the prison.

The guards were just as pathetic as I anticipated. I have never met a prison worker that I would consider a serious threat. The only one that got very close caught an arrow from Shana in the face. I slashed three more out of my way, then charged upstairs…into an ambush.

Lavitz glared at the surrounding guards. "Take us to King Albert, or it'll be your last breath!"

The lead warden replied by dropping us into a pit. When I came to, I saw the others searching the walls.

I felt a draft nearby. "Hey guys, I think I've found a way out."

Before we could get out, we were attacked by a huge monster. "This is Jiango!" Dart yelled. "If we put it to sleep, we can beat it easily!"

"Got it!" Haschel fed the creature a sachet, sending it to sleep.

The Wind Dragoon moved next. "Gaspless!!" Lavitz shouted. The powerful wind spell blew the monster away.

"Twin Dragon Attack!" No more Jiango.

Dart waved at the exit. "Come on, let's go!"

We pounded up the stairs, just in time to see Fruegel standing over King Albert. Shana shot him to get his attention.

He turned around and glared furiously. "Fine then. I'll kill you all before Albert! Rodriguez, Guftas, come to me!"

Lavitz took Fruegel, Rose got Rodriguez, leaving Guftas to Krista and me.

I looked at Krista. "Let's try our new team-up attack." She nodded.

We faced our target and focused our power together. "Gemini Beam!" The piglike Guftas disintegrated.

Lavitz had taken down Fruegel by then, so the next event startled us all. "Aarrgh!"

We whirled and saw a hooded man with his hand actually _inside_ the King's flesh. He pulled out a glowing gem.

"I knew it was here. Moon Gem," he said.

_Moon Gem!?_

Lavitz yelled incoherently and jumped into the air, transforming in mid-leap. I had a better view, so I saw the magic sword.

I jumped after him. "Lavitz, don't!"

We collapsed in a heap, just as the man's hood fell back. I recognized him instantly.

"Lloyd!!"  
Lloyd turned and ran. We let him.

Rose cut Albert's bonds, while Lavitz turned to me, livid. "I could have stopped him!!"

"Wrong." Rose walked over. "Lloyd has a sword called the Dragon Buster, a weapon made to kill Dragons. You would have been killed with one blow."

Krista spoke up. "So if we ever fight this guy, we shouldn't transform?"

"Exactly."

Lavitz suddenly jerked in disbelief as his Dragoon Spirit seemed to split in half. "What the!?"

The extra Dragoon Spirit floated over to King Albert. "This is…"

Rose turned to him. "You are now a Dragoon, Albert. This is the first time a Dragoon Spirit has been held by two people at once."

Dart cut off further conversation. "Let's go to Seles. We can talk there." 

Author's note: You may have noticed Solid Shark and I have similar writing styles. The reason for that is simple: he's my brother. We tend to borrow each other's ideas, so don't worry about plagiarism. Please tell me what you think of the story so far. D.S. 


	5. Chapter 5: Encounter with Doel

Here we go again. I don't own LOD. 

We arrived in Seles without incident, and gathered in the basement of a ruined building.

As usual, I got right to the point. "All right, Albert, just what is this 'Moon Gem' that Lloyd stole?"

Albert sighed. "It is a hidden treasure of Serdio, sealed within the body of each crown heir. It is a legacy of the ancient Winglies, filled with magic that only they can use."

Rose frowned. "If it's so secret, how did Lloyd find out about it?"

The king grimaced. "I was foolish. I bought his intelligence and employed him as an advisor. He was probably working for Imperial Sandora."

I turned to Dart. "Want to bet that Shana's abduction was Lloyd's idea?"

"I don't think there can be any doubt," he replied. "The question is, why."

"Somehow, I don't think that it has anything to do with the Serdian war," I said slowly. "I think that the war is incidental to his plans."

Lavitz said, "I don't care. We need to recover the Moon Gem and end this stupid war!"

Rose snorted. "It's not that easy. Lloyd is a very dangerous enemy, and Albert has no force of his own."

Albert stood. "Indeed, I am helplessly alone." He took out his Dragoon Spirit. "But as the Dragoons of yore led Humans to victory," we all brought out our Spirits, "so will we put an end to this conflict." He brandished his spear. "We have only one target: Emperor Doel in the Black Castle at Kazas."

Our journey to Kazas proved to be the easy part. The city was crawling with Sandoran soldiers. 

We checked out the weapon shop first. Inside was a disreputable looking adventurer.

He spotted us at once. "Hey, there. You're warriors, aren't you? I can tell by your aura." He leaned forward conspiratorially. "Just between us, I defeated the Dragon, Feyrbrand."

Rose rolled her eyes.

"As proof, here's one of his feathers."

A feathered Dragon? Give me a break I thought.

"For a limited time, I'll give you this feather, the Dragon beater, for free!"

Before any of us could laugh in his face, a Sandoran stormed in. "Is there a guy who defeated Feyrbrand in here!?" he demanded. He glared at the adventurer. "It must be you. Come with me!"

"Wait!" he protested. "I'm just a businessman. I was lying about the Dragon!"

What an idiot.

We carefully headed for the castle, only to be stymied yet again. It was easily the most heavily guarded place in the city.

"Oh, man, now what?" Krista moaned.

I looked around, and spotted the entrance to an old underground fort. "Guys, let's go down this way."

"Good thinking, Kyle," Dart responded.

He led the way into the heart of the fort, where we encountered a young boy representing something called the New Serdio Party.

He asked us three questions. "First, which country do you want to win, Basil or Sandora?"

Dart shook his head. "I cannot say which. The important thing is to end the war as soon as possible."

The boy nodded. "I agree. Always strife remains, no matter who wins. Next question: During the war, what should powerless kids like us do?"

"Take care at home," Dart replied. "The fighters need somewhere to come back to."

"I agree. There are things that we too can do. Last question: Why do people have to fight?"

"To protect something," Dart said without hesitation.

"That's right! I learned it from my grandpa."

The boy, Popo, guided us to a secret route beneath the castle. We traversed it easily enough, then came face to face with a guard and his attack dog. Shana dispatched the dog with an arrow, while Rose and I dealt with the soldier.

The path to the throne room was far more difficult. First we had to obtain some magic oil in order to operate the elevators, battling guards ad nauseam along the way. Then we had to get three colored stones so that we could unlock the final path. And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, we had to fight a rather large enemy near the door.

Rose stopped. "Something's not right. I smell blood."

Dart froze. "It's Kongol!"

The huge Giganto stopped and glared at us. "Gigantos don't lose twice! Gigantos make payback for Hoax! For His Majesty Doel!"

Kongol lunged for us, but had the misfortune of facing two Wind Dragoons. He went down quickly, Rose having destroyed his armor.

"Me, brother of hero, has pride. Cannot live in disgrace. Kill me."

Rose shrugged. "As you wish."

I grabbed her arm. "Rose, wait! The game is over."

She glared at me. "'Game'? Don't be silly. This is a matter of life or death."

Shana stood over the Giganto. "It's over. He cannot fight."

Rose looked resigned. "Hope your sweetness won't kill you."

Doel's throne room was dimly lit. "So you came all the way here. Silly daredevils."

Albert walked to the throne. "Uncle, do you remember me? I am the son of your late brother…Albert!"

Doel gazed at him. "You remind me of…Carlo, twenty years ago. A bloodstained corpse in front of me."

"Uncle, why?" Albert asked. "Why did you divide Serdio by killing my father!?"

"To save Serdio from an incapable leader named Carlo."

Dart had a question of his own. "Why did you have Shana taken away!?"

Doel folded his arms. "Oh that. Lloyd had to find the girl. He is a mere pawn. Along with the Dragoons."

"How_ dare _you!?" I snarled. "Prepare to die!!"

Despite his dual swords, Doel wasn't too difficult…at first. We thought we had him, but he suddenly transformed into a Dragoon. Uh-oh.

We transformed as well, and showed him that we had the greater power.

"Star Children!"

"Rose Storm!"

"Wing Blaster!"

"Astral Drain!"

"Gemini Beam!"

"Final Burst!"

The barrage of magic sent Doel reeling, but he wasn't through yet. "Atomic Mind!"

"Oof!" The blast of lightning had caught me full in the face. "You want to play games with me, Doel? Fine. Star Flare!!"

My star magic proved far more devastating than I had believed possible. He burned brightly for a moment, then slowly sank to the floor. "You have become…strong."  
"Uncle…" Albert was in obvious pain.

"What you should know is not the past, but the future," Doel went on. "Pursue…Lloyd. He is in the western country of…Tiberoa."

"Tiberoa!?" Dart repeated.

"He…he knows everything. Go and find out. About the world. And about…everything." With that, he collapsed, dead.

Albert spoke after a long silence. "The war is over. This is the end of our journey, everyone."

Dart shook his head. "Not yet. There is still much that I want to know. About Shana's kidnapping, and the Moon Gem." He turned to face us. "I am pursuing Lloyd! I'll make him explain everything!"

Shana walked to his side. "I'm going, too! I want to know."

Albert nodded in agreement. "My journey cannot end, either. I must recover the Wingly treasure, the Moon Gem. I will live as a Dragoon for a while."

"We're with you, too," Krista and I said together.

Lavitz said, "I will follow Albert."

"I'll see how far you can go," Rose said.

Haschel was going to leave…but then he received the Dragoon Spirit of the Violet Dragon. "My choice is made. I will go with you, as well."

Author's note: This chapter has an abrupt ending because I was unsure of how long a given document could be. The next chapter is significantly longer. D.S.


	6. Chapter 6: Tiberoa

I don't own Legend of Dragoon. (Are you getting tired of repetition too?)

"So, this is Fletz," I remarked.

We had arrived at the Tiberoan capital in late afternoon, and were now exploring the city. The first thing that I noticed was that it was significantly larger than Bale. The locals were mostly dark-skinned, due to the climate (Tiberoa being rather far to the south). One thing that struck me as odd was the recurring star motif. Buildings, light fixtures, and even the streets were decorated with star shapes. It was like walking through a planetarium.

I turned to Albert. "Why are there star shapes everywhere?"

"Tiberoans have faith in the stars," he replied. "They have a very advanced astronomy as a result."

Krista snorted derisively. "Faith in the stars? Come on. That's got to be one of the silliest things I've ever heard."

We headed for a nearby bar to search for news. The waitress there insisted on talking on and on about stars until even Albert got sick of hearing it.

Dart interrupted, "We're searching for a man named Lloyd. Have you seen him?"

The girl thought for a moment. "Hmm, Lloyd?" She looked puzzled. "I haven't seen him. If Miss Kaffi the hipster doesn't know then he probably isn't in this town."

I left the bar while the others went to see an astronomer named Fester. Near the castle, I heard an alarmed voice.

"Shoot! Princess Emille is coming!"

"It's too sudden!"

I watched as the princess walked down the steps into the square. She was certainly beautiful, but her manners, or rather lack of them, ruined the effect. "I heard somebody say 'shoot'. Who was it!?" She berated a few people, then left, pleading boredom.

Witch I thought disgustedly.

I caught up with the others near the house of a man named Nello. On hearing of Emille's behavior, Albert was in shock.

"What!? I heard that she was a very sweet person."

I shrugged. "Well, she's not now. I do believe that she is the most obnoxious woman I have ever seen."

As there were no rooms at the hotel, and we couldn't leave town, Nello offered to take us in for the night.

While he and Albert chatted about something called the Green Project, I spoke to Dart. "How was Fester's?"

"Good. We found out more about the Moon That Never Sets and the Black Monster. Unfortunately, more still wasn't much."

Krista looked over at Albert and Nello. "Are they going to talk all night!?"

Haschel looked, too. "It seems so," he said.

I turned away. "I don't care. I'm going to bed."

The next morning, I checked my appearance for the first time since my arrival in this strange world. It was still the same: pale skin, close-cropped black hair, and eyes the color of Arctic ice. My outfit was still neat and simple: pants, shirt, knee-high boots, and tight gloves, all in black; and a single-edged sword strapped across my back.

Krista came in, wearing a similar outfit. "Ready to go, Kyle?"

I rolled my eyes. "I've been ready since Albert started talking with that psychotic plant man. Where are we going?"

"A town called Donau, to the northeast. Albert says that they have lots of flowers there."

We met the others at the city gate. Dart and Shana were watching the sky, Haschel was doing his usual morning warm-up, Albert and Lavitz were sparring, and Rose sat silently nearby.

I raised my hand in greeting. "We're ready."

Dart nodded. "Good. Let's go."

The trip through the Barrens was uneventful until we got to the midpoint. We suddenly heard an annoying cackle from a nearby ridge.

Shana pointed upwards. "Who are they?"

The three thugs cackled again and jumped to the ground. "I'm Mappi of the Gehrich Gang," the leader said. "Now give us your valuables!"

Dart rolled his eyes. "They have no class."

I glared at them. "Buzz off, _vermin_."

Albert snorted. "We have nothing to give you. But if you insist, how about a 'miserable ending' for you." 

Rose drew her sword. "This is your last chance. Get out of our way or you'll need a doctor."

The bandits were unimpressed, and attacked. Lavitz impaled one of the henchmen with his spear, while I sent the other backwards, sans head.

Dart was less fortunate. He almost took down Mappi when the latter lunged forward and stole his Dragoon Spirit. Rose tried to stop Mappi, but he was too agile. He ran off, still cackling to himself.

"He's gone." Albert sounded resigned.

Dart pounded the ground with his fist. "It's my fault for not being careful enough!"

Rose was concerned. "Having a Dragoon Spirit stolen was the last thing we needed."

I shook my head. "We can't do anything about it for now. Let's move on to Donau."

Donau the Flower City was the coziest place we had yet visited. As the name implies, there were flowers everywhere. Unfortunately, the city's beauty was marred by the presence of a large number of bandits. They seemed to think that they owned the whole town.

We were greeted by a nervous girl. "Wel…welcome to Donau."

"Don't worry. We're not with the bandits," Krista reassured her.

The girl was relieved. "Thank you."

I walked over. "We're looking for a man named Lloyd. Have you seen him?" I asked gently.

"Yes. He saved a visitor from some bandits a couple of days ago," she replied.

Albert frowned. "Who was this visitor?"

"Wink, the Third Sacred Sister of Mille Seseau."

"Mille Seseau?" I repeated. "Isn't that your homeland, Dart?"

He nodded. "I haven't been there in eighteen years, though."

Krista and I decided to explore the town by ourselves. We ran into a small group of Mille Seseau soldiers near the local clinic.

Their leader spoke to me. "Have you seen the man who saved Sister Wink?"

I shook my head. "We're looking for him, too. May I speak to this Sister Wink?"

"I will check." The knight disappeared for a moment, then returned. "Sister Wink will speak with you."

The girl I was brought to didn't look the part of a high ranking official. Pale, with blond hair, she seemed like the stereotypical "damsel in distress".

I got right to the point. "I understand that you met a swordsman named Lloyd. Could you describe him?"

She nodded. "Yes. He had a pale complexion, platinum silver hair, and red eyes. He was dressed in a sleeveless black and silver outfit and carried a long sword."

"That sounds like the same man. Did he have a sword that looked like a flame?"

Wink shook her head. "Not that I saw."

I thought for a moment. "Did you see where he went?"

"No."

"Thank you. You've been a big help." I hurried back to the others.

I found them near the Mayor's house. "Lloyd was here for sure," I said without preamble. "Why he would save the life of a stranger is beyond me. And who on Earth is _this_ ?"

I indicated a girl standing with them. She had pale skin and platinum hair with a bluish tinge. She was dressed in a somewhat revealing dancer's outfit that was probably a liability around bandits. She also carried a large hammer.

Dart said, "This is Meru. When she heard that we were going to rescue a local she insisted on coming along."

I frowned. "Rescue? Who are we going to rescue?"

"A man named Lynn. He's the Mayor's son."

"I see. Do we know where these bandits are based?"

"Beyond a place called the Valley of Corrupted Gravity," Dart replied.

"Corrupted Gravity? I do not like the sound of that," I mused. "Oh, well. If it needs to be done, then we'll do it."

With our new friend in tow, we made our way back to Fletz. The trip was made lively by Meru's constant dancing and chatter. She acted much like a classic teen, but I was certain that there was more to her than met the eye.

About halfway through the Barrens, I turned to the others. "I just had an interesting thought."

"What is it, Kyle?" Dart asked.

"We have five of the original Dragoon Spirits with us. Six if you count the one Mappi stole. It occurs to me that we might want to search for the remaining Dragoons. I have an odd feeling that we'll need them."

"I agree," Rose said firmly. "It cannot be a coincidence that the Dragoons are gathering again. We will need all the help we can get."

"Let's see," Krista said. "We have Fire, Light, Darkness, Wind, and Thunder, plus the two Star. That should leave Earth and Water."

"I found the Golden Dragoon Spirit in Lohan," I said. "We just need to find a bearer." Little did I know how soon we would find one.

Fletz was much the same as when we left it, if a little busier.

"So, we need the permission of King Zior. Albert, do you know him?" Dart asked.

"I might have met him once or twice when I was little," Albert replied.

"So there shouldn't be a problem, then," Meru said brightly.

Albert looked away. "I am not going to reveal my identity." He turned back to us. "I am not traveling as the king of Serdio. I am traveling as your companion and friend." We all nodded.

Our first attempt to see the king was comical. Meru tried to break through the castle guard, but simply bounced off him. Persuasion seemed futile, so we backed off to consider our options.

"Dart, didn't you say that Fester worked for the royal family?" I said at last.

"Yes," Dart said slowly.

"Why don't we talk to him, then?"

"Good idea."

Fester proved easy to find. When we explained our problem, he was glad to help us. When the guard saw us in the astronomer's company, he let us past without a second glance.

Fester led us to the Chamber of the Sun, the throne room of Tiberoa.

"I think my eyes are going," said the king. "I see many Festers."

"There is only one of me, Your Majesty," Fester replied. "These are my friends."  
"Oh? And what is their request?" Zior asked.

Dart stood. "Your Majesty, we want permission to enter the Valley of Corrupted Gravity."  
"Hmm, I think I've heard of the Valley of Corrupted Gravity," the king mused.

Fester said hurriedly, "King Zior, your ears are fine, too."

Is this guy senile? I thought.

He gave us a pass and invited us too dinner that night. We were happy to accept.

Near the entrance to the castle, we heard a voice, "Excuse me, Your Majesty Albert?"

"Yes?" Albert said.

"I am Libria, lady's maid to Princess Lisa. She wishes to speak with you."

I stepped forward. "Wait a minute. How do you know who he is?"

"Princess Lisa speaks with the stars. Astrology shows her the way," Libria replied.

Idiot. I turned to Dart. "You guys can talk to the Princess. I'm going for a walk." I spun on my heel and left.

The Twin Castle was a soothing place at night. The towers rose high into the night sky, framing the Moon That Never Sets. I carefully avoided the Moon Tower, bearing in mind Princess Emille's rather abrasive behavior. Instead, I made my way to the walkway connecting the towers. There, I found an enormous telescope.

I must have gazed into it for an hour when I heard Libria's voice behind me. "Mr. Hunter?"

"Yes?"

"The dinner is ready. Please follow me."

The meal was not destined to be on my list of favorite memories. Princess Emille was abrupt, scornful, and just plain annoying. Adding insult to injury, she had no discernable table manners. I swiftly lost what little appetite I had.

"Ho ho ho," the king said. "It seems that when girls reach twenty, they develop quite an appetite."

Senile old man, I thought, disgusted.

"You and you. What are your names?" Emille demanded, pointing to Dart and Albert.

"I am Dart," said our leader.

"My name is Albert. It is a pleasure to meet you," was Albert's response.

I leaned close to Rose. "Could she get any more obnoxious?"

"Probably not."

I tuned out the rest of the conversation and tried to concentrate on my food. This was ultimately futile, despite the excellent cooking. Emille was too rude, King Zior kept excusing her, and I turned out to be allergic to a grain dish, much to my embarrassment. Lavitz laughed himself silly at my expression.

I glared at him. "Laugh while you can, Lavitz. Maybe next time you'll be the one with egg on your face."

After the meal, we retired to a guest room. Judging by the number of beds, it had obviously been prepared in advance.

"Dart, what does Princess Lisa want with us?" I asked.

"She wants us to find out the connection between her sister and the Gehrich Gang. In a couple of days, Princess Emille will inherit a magic treasure of Tiberoa, the Moon Dagger."

"Moon Dagger? Is that anything like Serdio's Moon Gem?"

He nodded. "Lisa doesn't want the bandits to get their hands on it."

"Great. Just great. Since it's a magical artifact named for the moon, then Lloyd'll probably show up in the next few days. The situation is getting crazier by the minute."

We brainstormed for a bit, then decided to call it a night.

Author's note: For those of you wondering when the romance part of the story comes in, it will be in chapter 13. D.S. 


	7. Chapter 7: A New Dragoon and An Imposter...

I don't own this game. Satisfied?

The nine of us entered the Valley of Corrupted Gravity within two days of leaving Fletz. The guards let us go by without question once they saw the pass.

I whistled in amazement. "This is easily the most surreal place I have ever seen." The environment was so tortured it was hard to tell which way was up. Rocks drifted aimlessly, some of them large enough to stand on.

"It still has the backwash from the Dragon Campaign," Rose said, as though remembering. "The collision of the magic power of Dragoons and Winglies can distort nature quite a bit." 

"You have a gift for understatement, Rose," Krista commented. "I wonder if we'll fall up, down, or sideways."  
We moved through the valley with relative ease, jumping from rock to rock as necessary. The local monsters weren't much of a threat. Meru proved herself to be a capable fighter, expertly swinging her hammer at some of the valley's nastier inhabitants.

At the far end we got an unpleasant surprise. "Oh, no."

Dart looked up. "Virage!!"

Rose saw it, too. "What is worse is that it has the complete form."

"What is that!?" Meru asked.

"A creature used by the Winglies during the Dragon Campaign," I replied. "This could get ugly."

At that moment, the Virage started to move. It was at least twice the size of the one we fought at Volcano Villude. It was also twice as deadly.

Albert went first, rising high into the air. "Rose Storm!" The wind barrier surrounded us, blunting the Virage's attacks.

Haschel sprang up, then drilled into the ground. "Thunder God Attack!"

Lavitz dove at it repeatedly with his spear. "Take that, you evil creature!"

Dart, having lost his Dragoon Spirit, was forced to simply hack away. Fortunately, his sword was still razor sharp. One chop severed the Virage's left arm. A quick reversal, and he'd cut its legs out from under it.

Rose sprang forward with the ease of long practice. "Death Dimension!"

Meru held back, covering a slightly dazed Shana. "It's hammer time, ugly!"

Krista was starting to get frustrated. "Why can't you just be a good monster and die!?"

I got fed up. "Enough games." I rose higher, preparing for a massive magic attack. "_Super Nova!!_"

The explosion nearly blinded us. When the light faded, the Virage was reaching toward Shana, only to be blown over the edge by a beam of light emanating from the girl's forehead. "What in the name of…!?"

Rose reached her first. "Shana! What on Earth are you…to Virage!?"

"I don't know! I don't know anything!" Shana buried her face in her hands.

Dart took her by the shoulders. "There is no more Virage!"

"Da-rt." She shook her head. "It's okay now."

"Good."

The bandits' home turned out to be the Home of Giganto, home of Kongol's people. The Gehrichs had turned it into a rat's nest, full of traps, dirt, debris, and who knows what else.

I drew my katana. "Krista and I should go in first. Stealth is our trade, plus we should be able to deal with any traps."

Dart nodded. "All right. Good luck."  
We slipped quietly into the compound, easily dodging the arrow trap near the entrance. Inside, all was silent.

"It's quiet…too quiet," I murmured.

Krista nudged me. "Here come some guards."

We scurried to opposite sides of the street, and lay in wait. When one of the guards drew near my hiding spot, I flipped over behind him and slit his throat. Goodbye, vermin

I signaled Krista. "One down."

"I got the other two."

I waved Dart and the others forward. "Three bandits dead so far, Dart. We'd better move fast."

We ran to a huge gate…which promptly shut in our faces. At the same time, the bandits bombarded us with arrows, a worthless gesture.

One gangster, evidently frustrated by their inability to hit us, came down to confront us directly. 

Dart moved forward. "We have come to talk."

"There will be no talking," the thief sneered. "You have already ruined our territory, so now we'll beat you up!" He assumed a strange fighting stance.

Haschel recognized it immediately. "That pose…it must be from the Rouge School!" He glared at the bandit. "Where did you learn that style!?"

"If you want to find out, then try to defeat me!" was the reply. The bandit lunged at us, only to catch Haschel's fist in the jaw.

Haschel stood over him. "Do you know a woman fighter named Claire?"

"Never heard of her. I learned this from my boss. He used to study it seriously, but was kicked out twenty years ago."

"Kicked out…" Haschel jumped up. "Now I remember! Gehrich was once my disciple!"

"You'll never defeat him. My boss is ten times stronger than me!"

"It's my fist that decides whether I can defeat him or not!" Haschel snarled, sending the bandit fleeing for his life.

Haschel walked to the gate. "I'll show you what the real Rouge School is like." He then knocked the gate down with a single punch. "Shall we go?"

Just beyond the gate, Haschel abruptly collapsed.

I rushed to him. "Are you all right?"

"I think I did too much. My back hurts."

It was decided that Meru would keep an eye on Haschel, while the rest of us searched the surrounding area. There wasn't much to search. The only interesting thing there was a swarm of rock fireflies.

When we got back, we saw Meru sprawled on the ground. There was no sign of Haschel.

"Meru! What happened!?" Dart asked.

"Something hit me. Oh, where's Haschel!?"

"Blast it!!" I growled. "He must be planning to take on Gehrich by himself. Let's go!"

We rushed into an underground chamber, finding the Thunder Dragoon facing off against his former student. "Why don't you remind me of your so-called aching heart!" Gehrich snarled.

Dart, Albert, and Lavitz moved to support Haschel, leaving me face to face with Mappi. The diminutive bandit cackled with glee.

"Cackle while you can, Mappi," I bit out. "This time, I won't be so merciful. You won't get out of here alive."

Mappi charged as I transformed, the energy release sending him flying. He crashed into the wall, sending pieces of it everywhere.

I smiled coldly. "Didn't like that, did you? Well, you'll like this even less. _Star Dragon!!_" The dragon summoning dropped him to the floor, mortally wounded.

I turned in midair, just in time to see Haschel slam Gehrich into his own seat. The bandit leader slumped to the floor.

A rumbling sound alerted us to a new threat. A large piece of a statue broke off and fell towards us, but stopped before it could hit the ground. I turned to see who had saved us, and saw the last person I would have imagined in that role.

Dart's jaw dropped. "Kongol!?"

I landed next to Krista. "Kongol, why are you here? Why did you save us?"

"You enemy no more," the Giganto replied. "Here holy place of Gigantos. Me survivor."

"What happened to the other Gigantos?" Shana asked.

"Human killed us. They stole Gigantos' treasure. Human thinks other species can die. Human selfish creature."

"That's why you joined the Humans' war?" said Albert.

"No. Emperor Doel saved me from bad people."

While they spoke, I suddenly felt something in my pocket. I pulled out the Golden Dragoon Spirit and saw it glow faintly. So, Kongol is a Dragoon, too I thought.

The others agreed to let Kongol join us, though Rose seemed skeptical. The Giganto looked pleased to have friends.

I stepped forward. "Rose, perhaps this will cure your doubt." I extended the Dragoon Spirit to Kongol. "Welcome, Kongol, Dragoon of the Golden Dragon."

Kongol looked at the Dragoon Spirit in disbelief. "Kongol is Dragoon now?"

Rose nodded. "The Dragoon of Earth. You have the weakest magic, but the strongest physical strike." She turned to Dart. "But we have to get Dart's Dragoon Spirit back."

Kongol waved at the seat. "What you are looking for may be down there. Push that button."

While the others went to get the Dragoon Spirit and Lynn, Haschel left to bury Gehrich. He returned with news.

"Gehrich told me that the Princess Emille we met is a fake. The real one is hidden in the castle."  
I frowned. "We'd better hurry."

Lynn turned towards Donau when we entered the Barrens, but Meru elected to come with us.

"Dart's journey won't be easy," she said. "I think that there's still something I can help with."

Dart shrugged. "It'll continue to be like a three ring circus."

Krista spoke up. "Guys, I think we'd better go in Dragoon form. Traveling by air will get us there much faster."

I turned to the Giganto. "Kongol, can you carry Meru?"

"Yes." Kongol scooped up the girl and placed her on his back. The contrast was striking: a petite dancer perched on the back of a huge Giganto.

Dart grinned, spreading his wings. "Let's get to Fletz, everyone!"

We didn't bother with landing in the city. Instead, we bypassed the guard and flew directly into castle.

Dart turned to Krista and me. "Since there are so many bandits posing as knights here, you two should use your stealth training to get to the Chamber of the Sun. We'll find Princess Emille."

I nodded. "Got it. We can keep an eye on the imposter."

Getting to the chamber was much easier than I expected. The bandit guards were so abysmally stupid that they missed the most obvious signs of intruders. I can say this because I left a note on the door and they didn't even blink.

Inside the Chamber of the Sun, Zior was standing before the ersatz Princess Emille. The only others present were a few dignitaries.

"You've been filled with twenty years if experience since you came into this world," he said. "You've reached the age that deserves the succession of the Moon Dagger as an heir to the throne of Tiberoa. Never forget the blessings of the Sun, Moon and Stars." He looked around. "Anybody! Are there any objections!?" Silence answered him. "I take this silence to be approval of the succession."

At that moment, Dart came in with the real Princess Emille. "I have an objection to the succession," Emille said.

Zior looked from one to the other. "Oh!? There are two Emilles!"

The fake suddenly jumped up and grabbed the Moon Dagger. She rushed to the balcony, trapped like a rat.

"I guess I can't run in this stuffy dress. I'll show you my true self!" There was a flash of light. When it faded, she was dressed in revealing black armor. "This is the true self of Miss Lenus!" 

Dart glared at her. "You can't escape. Give up and give us the Moon Dagger."

Lenus laughed. "A girl in love doesn't know the meaning of the words 'give up'! I've gotten this for my love. I won't give up so easily!"

Rose drew her sword. "I'm sorry, but you don't have time to be in love anymore, because you will die in here."

"Really," Lenus sneered. "Why don't we find out."

Meru pulled her hammer while the rest of us transformed. Lenus hovered in the middle of the room on wings of light. She held a pair of circular blades at the ready.

What is that on her back!?

As usual, Albert made the first move. "Rose Storm!"

Lenus snorted derisively. "Take this! Black Rain!" The Darkness attack hit all of us at once, though Shana took the brunt of it. She fell to her knees.

"Shana!" Krista yelled. "Astral Drain!" The healing spell brought the Light Dragoon back into the air.

I looked at Dart. "Let's double team this lunatic. Double Inferno!"

Dart and I combined our Fire magic into a huge wall of flame. Lenus was nearly incinerated by the attack, but somehow managed to stay on her feet.

"Well, you guys aren't bad, I guess," she gasped.

"Just give us the Moon Dagger. You can't get away," Dart growled.

Lenus laughed. "Oh, really!? How about this?" She vaulted over the balcony and flew off.

Albert groaned. "Oh, no. She is a Wingly!?"

"The species that dominated the bygone world," Rose said. "She's a survivor."

I bent close to Lavitz. "Wanna bet that the guy she's in love with is Lloyd?"

"Since she stole the Moon Dagger, you're probably right."

King Zior offered to let us embark on the warship _Queen Fury_ in order to pursue Lenus. We agreed, and began the next trip to Donau. 

Author's note: I know Kongol is supposed to talk funny, but I'm not going to portray him like that. I refuse to accept that a Dragoon Spirit would choose a moron as its master. Kongol isn't human, so English probably isn't his first language. D.S. 


	8. Chapter 8: The Phantom Ship and the Deat...

Same disclaimer as always.

We took to the skies to shorten the trip to Donau. Along the way, Albert gave Kongol some lessons in English grammar. Fortunately for my mental health, the Giganto was a quick study. He was much more understandable by the time we got to Donau.

We were greeted by Commodore Puler, commanding officer of the _Queen Fury._ "Welcome! You deserve to be guests aboard my ship."

Dart shook his head. "We have the same objective: to pursue Lenus. There's no need to treat us as guests."

Puler smiled. "I like that. Come aboard whenever you're ready."

The _Queen Fury_, despite being the most advanced ship in this bizarre world, wasn't much to look at. It was steam powered, with three large smokestacks. The engine drove a pair of paddle wheels, one on each side of the ship. The main hull was covered in steel armor plate. The overall effect was utilitarian in the extreme, resulting in the only ship I've ever seen that was uglier than a cruise liner.

I spent most of the journey to Illisa Bay exploring the ship. It was much more impressive on the inside. I am glad to say that I did not get seasick, unlike poor Lavitz.

I ran into Kongol in the boiler room. "Hi, Kongol."

"Hello, Kyle."

I chuckled to myself.

The Giganto raised his eyebrows. "What's so funny?"

I shook my head. "I was thinking that your presence is something of an irony. The power of the Dragoon nearly killed you not once, but twice. Yet here you are, a friend to those who used that power, and a Dragoon yourself."

Kongol shrugged. "If there's one thing I've learned from traveling with Dart, it's that you can't predict the future."

Without warning, the ship rocked violently, spilling both of us to the deck. "What in blazes was that!?"

"Let's check it out."

We raced to the main deck, running into Krista and Albert along the way. The cause of our problems turned out to be a ghost ship.

Albert gazed at it thoughtfully. "There is a heraldry…This appears to be a royal ship of Mille Seseau."

Haschel came charging up. "Dart! I can't find Shana anywhere!"

"Eeeek!"

We jumped onto the ghost ship and found Shana sprawled on the deck, surrounded by broken skeletons.

"Shana! Are you all right?" Dart asked.

"Yes. I was attacked, but some knights protected me. Then they vanished."

Meru hopped up and down. "Well, we're here, so let's go on a tour!"

Dart shook his head. "No way!"

Shana got to her feet. "I want to go, too! I have to know."

Dart sighed. "All right, but be careful."

We cautiously explored the lower deck, fighting skeletons, ghosts, and monsters that defy description. The last group almost had us, but fell to Kongol's Grand Stream spell.

A ghost appeared in front of us. "Please come to the captain's cabin. I have a request," he said. Then he vanished.

Getting to the captain's cabin wasn't very difficult. With the destruction of the phantoms on the lower deck, the remaining ghosts weren't much of a threat. Once inside, the door shut by itself.

Meru looked up. "There's a portrait of a beautiful woman. She looks like the Queen of some country."  
The ghost captain appeared out of nowhere. "Please help me!" He turned to face us. "He killed the crew…knights…me…and the newborn princess. Him…the Black Monster."

"What!? This was done by the Black Monster, too!?" Dart said in astonishment.

"We couldn't protect the princess, so we couldn't finish dying. Please destroy the fear, please send the souls of the knights to rest." He vanished with a cry of agony.

Dart clenched his fists. "It is impossible to fully die! He kills people for no reason!"

We left the cabin and returned to the main deck. There, a pair of ghost knights appeared, swords drawn.

"We won't give you Princess Louvia!" said one, and charged without effect.

The second one snarled, "We'll protect her even if it costs us our lives!" followed by another futile attack.

Dart cursed. "The Black Monster. How many does he have to kill before he satisfies himself!?"

"Stop it!"

We looked at Rose in surprise. She shook herself. "Sorry. What was I thinking?" She turned to Shana. "Let's go. You want to know, don't you?"

We entered what looked like a royal cabin, coming face to face with more ghost knights. They attacked, but quickly succumbed to Shana's White Silver Dragon. We passed into the next room, evidently a nursery. It looked as though nothing had been disturbed for eighteen years.

A ghost appeared and approached Shana. "You are…?" She looked closer. "Thank God, it was not in vain. I can now end everything. I can go to the place where everyone is." She vanished.

We soon had bigger things to worry about than a disappearing nanny--the ship started to sink. We hightailed it back to the _Queen Fury_. Most of us made it, but Dart and Rose weren't so fortunate. Dart slipped and nearly fell, but Rose grabbed on.

"Rose, let go! You gotta live!" Dart yelled.

"No, I won't let go! I will never let it happen again!"

What are you talking about?

I watched helplessly as they fell into the ocean. The waves swallowed them in an instant.

"Commodore Puler! Get the life raft!" Albert shouted.

I shook my head. "Too late. We'll just have to hope that they can swim to safety." I turned to Meru. "Please stay with Shana till we get to Fueno."

"Okay."

Fueno was less bustling than I would have expected of a port city. I soon found out why.

It seemed that a Dragon had appeared at the Prison Island six months previously. I was suspicious as this coincided both with Lenus joining the Gehrichs and Lloyd working for Emperor Doel. The path to the island was closed with a flood tide.

I got back to the hotel just in time to hear Haschel ask a rude question. They're alive!

I rushed forward. "Dart! Rose!!"

Dart grinned. "Hi, Kyle."

After the usual greetings, I got to my news. "We have problems. A Sea Dragon showed up at the Prison Island six months ago. I strongly suspect that Lloyd is at the bottom of it."

Lavitz groaned. "Oh, no, not _another_ Dragon."

"I'm afraid so. We'll probably find Lenus there, too."

We left town and headed for the Undersea Cavern. As I had heard, the path we needed to take was closed by the tide.

Albert frowned. "It looks like we'll have to fly over. I hope--" He was cut off by a loud roar.

Rose gazed across the water. "So, the rumors of the Sea Dragon were true."

Meru was on her knees, shaking. "That is the Dragon's cry."

Rose looked at her. "I don't blame you for being frightened." This brought Meru to her feet.

"I'm not frightened!" she said, outraged. "A Dragon or two is nothing!"

"Don't be too confident," Krista warned. "Feyrbrand was nasty. This one will almost certainly be worse."

Dart cut off further debate. "Transform, everyone. We need to take out Lenus _now_."

When we got to the island, we saw Lenus talking to an all-too-familiar figure. The distance was great, but I recognized him anyway. Lloyd.

"Lloyd! Is this part of your plot!?" Dart demanded.

Lloyd shrugged. "My will is with Emperor Diaz. Namely, everything was planned by the god."

"You are still talking about that nonsense," Rose spat.

The other smirked. "I am the one who torched your home to the ground. I am the one who had Shana kidnapped, and I hold the Moon Gem and the Moon Dagger in my hands." He turned away. "You abhor me, don't you?"

"Lloyd!!"

He leaped over a ridge. "I am heading to Mille Seseau. Pursue me, if you can survive."

We moved to chase him, but Lenus stood in the way.

"Wait. It was nice of him to give you an invitation, but you gotta decline it." A light flashed, and she stood there as the Blue Sea Dragoon. "Because you will die in here!"

"Dragoons versus Lenus the Wingly, round two," I muttered. I transformed, and prepared for battle.

Once again, Albert made the first move. "Rose Storm!"

This fight was more complicated than our previous encounter, due to the presence of Regole, the Blue Sea Dragon. More like an eel than a Dragon in appearance, Regole was nonetheless a very dangerous enemy. Its first attack was a giant tidal wave.

I shook off the effects of the wave, then replied with a Fire spell. "Final Burst!"

We fought for nearly three hours, killing Regole and bringing Lenus to her knees, but she had one trick left.

She straitened. "Lloyd. My life…is for you!" She hurled her twin blades, then fell to the ground. Shana knocked Dart out of the way of one, while he struck the other to the ground with his sword.

Lenus lay on the floor of the cave. "Lloyd…" She closed her eyes. Then, as had happened with Greham and Doel, she began to glow, the Dragoon Spirit leaving for a new master.

Rose was visibly surprised at its choice. "Meru?"

The dancer looked perplexed. "Does this mean…that I'm a Dragoon, too?"

I smiled. "Welcome, Dragoon of the Blue Sea Dragon."

Meru immediately started jumping around with excitement, almost knocking me over. "This is so cool!"

I waved the others on. "You guys go ahead. I'll guide her through her first transformation." I looked at Meru. "Now, Meru, focus on your Dragoon Spirit. It will probably be a little draining at first, but you'll get used to it."

She complied, and was briefly covered in ice. The ice shattered, revealing Meru in her new armor. Her Dragoon was noticeably different from the others. The armor looked like someone had taken a blue one-piece swimsuit and added Dragon wings, gloves, and ankle boots.

I raised my eyebrows. "Not bad. Now let's try magic. If I recall correctly, that should be your strong point."

"Okay." She spun in a circle, creating a ring of ice. "Freezing Ring!"

"Well done. We'd better get back to Fueno, or we'll miss the boat."

Once back in Fletz, we saw the real Princess Emille make her first public appearance in six months. She apologized for all the trouble, but the people assured her that it wasn't her fault.

Albert looked entranced. "Thank you for bringing me to the country of Princess Emille," he murmured.

"I think he's in love, don't you?" Krista whispered. I nodded silently.

We proceeded directly to the Chamber of the Sun. I was somewhat nervous, as Lloyd had escaped with the Moon Dagger. The wrath of a king is not pleasant.

Zior soon dispelled my fears. "Welcome, Dart and friends! We are glad to see you alive and well."

Dart looked puzzled. "But, we couldn't retrieve the Moon Dagger."

The king shook his head. "Don't worry about it. The Moon Dagger is a mere royal tradition. You brought back Emille, and defeated the Sea Dragon. That is enough. There will be a banquet in your honor tonight."

Meru perked up. "A banquet? Is that like a party?"

"Meru! Be respectful!" Shana scolded.

Zior laughed. "It's all right. Yes, a banquet is a party of a sort."

We thanked him, then I went for a walk by myself. The castle seemed much more cheerful than when we had last visited. The knights were less antsy, thanks no doubt to Emille's return.

One said to me, "It is so good to have the real Emille back. She is so much sweeter than the imposter."

"The imposter is dead, so you can rest easy," I replied.

About an hour later, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. "Kyle?"

"What's up, Dart?"

"It's time for the party," he said.

"All right. I'll be right there."

The party was held in the Chamber of the Sun. I leaned back against a wall and watched the events in peace. I nearly laughed my head off when Meru dragged Dart onto the floor for a dance. The look on his face was priceless.

I let my eyes wander around the room. Meru kept dancing, Haschel was cornered by two chatty women, Kongol stood off alone, Albert spoke with Emille (no surprise there), and Lavitz stayed near Albert. There was no sign of Rose or Shana.

Krista came up to me. "Nice party, isn't it?"

I shrugged. "If you're into such things, I guess."

She playfully slapped my shoulder. "You're hopeless!"

I turned away. "Whatever. I'm going to bed."

"Goodnight, Kyle."

Author's note: Hope you like it so far. Remember this is an A.U. fic, so not everything happens the way it does in the game. D.S. 


	9. Chapter 9: Mille Seseau

I don't own Legend of Dragoon.

The voyage to Mille Seseau was quiet. We docked at the only place in that country that could be considered warm: Furni the Water City. As the name suggests, Furni was filled with canals. Most people there preferred to travel by boat instead of walking.

I looked around. "Interesting place," I commented.

Kongol stepped off the ramp behind me. "This is my first sea crossing."

Meru sighed. "It's been a long time."

Dart looked at her curiously. "Have you been here before, Meru?"

She jumped. "Yeah, well, I'm really popular," Meru stammered.

It soon developed that Furni wasn't as placid as it appeared. Three days earlier, a wolf named Kamuy had gone berserk, attacking several people and fleeing with a boy named Teo. The local mayor was offering a reward of 500 gold for anyone who could defeat Kamuy, with a bonus for rescuing Teo. We decided to help, as it was in our path.

We went to the mayor's house to spend the night. He and his daughter Fa prepared dinner. It turned out that Fa was Teo's best friend. She hadn't said a word since the incident.

After dinner, Shana sang Fa to sleep. Haschel looked startled at the tune.

I nudged him. "What is it, Haschel?"

"That song. My daughter made that up for her future baby."

I frowned in thought. "Shana told me that she learned it from Dart. She said that his mother used to sing it for him." I looked Haschel in the eye. "I guess that his mother being named Claire wasn't a coincidence after all. He must be your grandson."

Shana and Dart went up to the roof, followed by Meru, who was evidently spying on them again. I ignored it.

"You guys chatter if you want," I said at last. "I'm going to get some sleep." I flung myself on the couch and dropped off almost instantly.

The next morning, we left Furni for the Evergreen Forest, where Teo and Kamuy had been reported. They weren't difficult to find. A wolf that size leaves enormous tracks.

The head of the local knights called out to Teo. "Teo! Come here! Leave Kamuy!"

The boy shook his head violently. "No! Kamuy tried to protect Fa! It was a different monster that attacked her!"

One man, greedy for the reward, charged forward and was promptly knocked over. The wolf flipped Teo onto his back and ran off.

Rose spoke quietly, "This is very strange. What could turn a wolf into something like that?"

The king of Serdio was equally concerned. "The animals have become savage, not just here, but all over the world. Something is very wrong."

We chased Kamuy into a corner of the woods, finding him face to face with a rather annoying warrior we had encountered the previous day. He didn't fair well. Then it was our turn.

"Stop!!!" Teo cried.

Kamuy was tough, but ten Dragoons were more than sufficient to take him out. He went down quickly, much to Teo's dismay.

Shana approached the wolf. "I might be contradicting myself, but…I can't leave him like this." She bent down. "White Silver Dragon, please save Kamuy!"

The healing magic had a very startling effect. Kamuy seemed to expand, then shrank to the size of a puppy. He started running around Teo, completely cured.

I turned to the local knight. "Is it all right for Kamuy to come with Teo?"

He thought for a moment. "He seems harmless. Fine. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility."

I smiled at the young boy. "Say hi to Fa for us."

"Okay!"

Our next destination was the city of Deningrad, capital of Mille Seseau. I had heard that the royal palace was made of crystal, so I was anxious to see for myself.

Near the edge of the forest, Rose abruptly turned to the side.

"Where are you going?" Dart asked.

"I have an errand to run," Rose replied. "I'll meet you guys later."

Meru started to back up. "I'm going to go see my parents," she said. "I'll meet you in Deningrad."

"I'll miss you, Meru," said Haschel.

We made it to Deningrad without incident, and wandered into a church. There, a bishop named Dille gave us a sermon on something called the Divine Tree. He claimed that all life came from this tree, including ourselves. I naturally dismissed this as nonsense.

Dille said, "If you wish to know more, visit the library." This immediately got Albert's attention.

"The library of Mille Seseau!" he exclaimed. "I wonder if I can control my enthusiasm."

Probably not, I thought sardonically.

Dart spoke to someone near the altar, who introduced himself as Librarian Ute.

"Can't you see I'm busy!?" he barked.

Snob. I left to have a look around the city.

Deningrad was a place of cold beauty. It snowed frequently, as it was far to the north. The people, dressed as they were in cold weather gear, looked at my tight black body armor in amazement. Add the presence of the Crystal Palace, and you had a place where summer was thought of as a myth.

The others found me near the entrance. "Hey, Kyle!" Dart yelled.

I looked his way. "Did you find out anything useful?"

He shrugged. "Not really useful, but interesting. There was a lot of information on Winglies and the Dragon Campaign." Dart chuckled. "Ute almost had a heart attack when he found out that I'm a survivor of Neet."

"Neet?"

"My hometown."  
"Oh." I saw movement in the corner of my eye. "Here comes Rose. And she's not alone."

Rose came over with her companions. "These are Sister Luanna and Sister Setie," she said. "I met them in Neet."

We adjourned to a hotel, where Luanna began conversing with Dart.

"Your body has undergone some changes recently," she said. "You carry immense power."

Dart nodded. "I believe I can explain that." He held up his Dragoon Spirit. "We are the Dragoons, the Dragon Knights. We are those who rule Dragons."

Suddenly, the ground started to shake. At the same time, Dart keeled over in pain.

"What's going on!?" Lavitz yelled. "Is this an earthquake!?"

"No," Rose said. "It is the Divine Dragon, the king of Dragons. Eleven thousand years ago, the Winglies sealed him in the Mountain of the Mortal Dragon."

Krista gritted her teeth. "I'll bet that Lloyd freed him. He seems to like a challenge."

Luanna said, "You had best go to the Crystal Palace. Queen Theresa will want to talk to you."

Just outside, we ran into Meru. "Hi, guys!" she yelled.

"We don't have time to chat," Dart said. "We have to get moving."

The Crystal Palace was even more impressive on the inside. The walls were like mirrors, yet there was a homelike atmosphere. The guards were more courteous than one would normally expect, given the rampaging Dragon.

We reached the throne room just in time to see the head of the knights get a slap in the face from a young woman. "You idiot," she snarled.

Another female with a killer instinct. Wonderful.

"Miranda, we have guests," the queen said.

Miranda turned to face us. Unperturbed by her glare, I studied her carefully. She had fair skin, blond hair, and wore a red and white outfit. Attractive, certainly, and with the same aura of danger that so often surrounded Rose, she carried a bow and arrow as though it were an extension of herself.

Dart ignored her, instead addressing the Queen. "Your Majesty, we are here to help. We will deal with the Divine Dragon."

"And just how do you intend to do _that_?" Miranda asked with contempt.

In answer, Dart held up his Dragoon Spirit. "We are the Dragoons, the Dragon Knights. There is no one but us who can defeat the Dragon."

Miranda snorted. "Are you saying that you are the Dragoons of legend?"

I looked at her sidelong. "We were not alive then, but we inherited their powers. Or, in the case of Krista and myself, acquired entirely _new_ powers."

Rose spoke next. "The Winglies made two objects to deal with Dragons. One was a sword to kill Dragons, the Dragon Buster."

Meru started violently.

"Lloyd has that, however," Rose went on, "so we will need the Dragon Block Staff." She turned to Meru. "It seems that Meru knows something about it."

The Water Dragoon hesitated, then answered, "Um, I think it's in the Forest of Winglies." She sounded resigned.

"All right." Miranda faced the Queen. "I will go with them to the Forest of Winglies, and ask for the Dragon Block Staff."

We were about halfway out of the castle when Dart stopped. "Where's Shana?"

I frowned. "Could she have been left behind?"

Miranda looked annoyed. "We'd better hurry and find her. We don't have much time."

We found Shana in a room called the Chamber of the Signet. She seemed dazed.

"Miranda, what is this place?" Dart asked.

"I don't know exactly. It had something to do with the ancient Winglies."

Without warning, the White Silver Dragoon Spirit lifted off of Shana. It hovered in the air for a moment, then lowered itself around Miranda's neck. "What is this!?"

Dart's jaw dropped. "You are a Dragoon, too!?"

"I can't feel it anymore," Shana moaned. She blacked out.

"Wait!" Miranda said urgently. "What are you talking about!? What is this stone!?"

Shana woke an hour later. "I don't think I can go with you anymore," she said.

"Don't worry," Dart said. "I'll come back for you."

I paced for a moment. "Now we need to get to the Forest. The Dragon could come back at any time."

As we filed out, Shana spoke to Miranda. "Miranda…please take care of the rest."

"I will."

Author's note: The next chapter will have a surprising twist. 


	10. Chapter 10: Family Ties

I own nothing but my characters.

The trip through the Evergreen Forest was easy enough---in terms of combat, that is. Rose and Miranda had taken an instant dislike to each other. Miranda's sharp comments and Rose's cold responses at last began to grate on my nerves. I couldn't take any more.

"Will you two _KNOCK IT OFF!?_" I shouted. This brought some heads around; I don't normally scream at the top of my lungs. Fortunately, it had the desired effect; Rose and Miranda stopped arguing…for a while.

"A dead end," Dart said.

"The Winglies sealed themselves in here long ago," Meru said. She looked at the ground. "Maybe I'll get kicked out again."

Kicked out?

Suddenly, wings of light sprouted from Meru's back. At the same time, there was a brilliant flare from the "dead end". It resolved into a portal of some kind.

Dart's eyes widened. "Meru, are you…?"

She nodded. "Yep. I'm a Wingly."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Miranda asked.

"Would you have trusted me? Would you have considered me a friend?"

I stepped forward. "I would have. If we can trust Kongol, who was once the enemy, then we can trust a Wingly who has proved to be a loyal friend."

Rose nodded in agreement. "The Dragoon Spirit of the Blue Sea Dragon chose you. That is enough for me."

Meru smiled. "Thanks, everyone."

Dart waved us forward. "Let's go."

The Forest of Winglies was a strange place. The trees looked ordinary, and yet there was an odd feeling of depth, as if they were more than just trees. The green seemed unusually vibrant, probably due to Wingly magic. The stream near the bottom provided a soothing background.

I took all this in in an instant. My immediate attention was focused on a pair of Wingly guards. They didn't look happy to see us. To put it mildly.

"Humans!" one gasped. "Tell the Ancestor!" The other flew off, while the first glared at Meru. "Why did you bring them here!?" he demanded, charging a spell.

The other reappeared. "The Ancestor says he will meet with the Humans!"

The first guard relented. "Please be careful," he told us. "Most of us are ambiguous about Humans. Also, watch out for the Bardel brothers." He departed.

Once inside the town proper, Krista and I got a huge surprise. "_Mom!? Dad!?_"

Dart looked at us in surprise. "These are your parents?"

I nodded. "I don't know how they got here, though." I made introductions. "These are our friends: Dart, Rose, Haschel, Lavitz, Albert, Meru, Kongol, and Miranda." I returned my attention to my parents. "How did you get here, anyway?"

My mother looked grave. "We came here by the same magic gateway that sent you and Krista to this world. The same one that brought me to yours."

I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

She sighed. "I am a Wingly." Rose inhaled sharply. "I came to Earth to prepare for events that I knew were coming. Your father and I sent you here because we knew that powerful warriors would be needed."

Krista gaped. "You mean we have magic power even without our Dragoon Spirits!?"

Mother nodded. "There's more. I had a son, a full-blooded Wingly, by a previous marriage."

My eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What's this guy's name?"

"Lloyd."

I exploded. "_Lloyd!? _That traitor-thief-murderer-who-knows-what-else is our _brother!?_"

She nodded. "Yes. I don't know what he's thinking, though. The Lloyd I reared would never have done what he has done."

I shook my head to clear it. "We don't have time for a reunion. We're here to see the Ancestor."

My father said, "Of course. We'll meet you in Bale when it's all over. Keep your blades sharp."

When we entered the main building, we ran into Meru's parents. They didn't seem very surprised.

"Humans, the Dragon is your ally. Why are you helping us?" her mother asked.

Dart responded, "We must all work together to win this fight."

I stepped forward. "Dragons are not just the allies of Humans any longer." I nodded to Meru. "Your daughter, Meru, is the Dragoon of the Blue Sea Dragon, the Dragoon of Water. I would trust her with my life."

After a few pleasantries, we went on our way. We took a warp plate to an upper level, only to encounter an irate Wingly.

"Bardel! What are you doing!?" Meru asked.

"My sister was killed by Humans after following your example and leaving the forest," he snarled. "I will avenge her death!" With that, he launched a fireball, only to have Dart transform and block it. "Is this the power of the legendary Dragoon!?" he gasped.

Rose strode past him. "Those who flaunt their power disappear when the truly powerful appear," she said.

We followed her into another teleporter and arrived in the Ancestor's room.

"Humans and Giganto, welcome," he said. "I am Blano, the Ancestor of the Forest."

Miranda knelt before him. "I am Miranda, the First Sacred Sister. I have come to ask for the Dragon Block Staff. Will you let us borrow it?"

Blano nodded. "Yes. We no longer have the Dragon Buster, so we must use the staff. It is in the Forbidden Land, once the Wingly capital Kadessa. I will have to send you there myself."

He led us to a giant teleporter. "This will take you to Kadessa." He activated it, sending us on our way. 

Author's note: Short chapter, but I had to break it somewhere. D.S. 


	11. Chapter 11: The Divine Dragon

Disclaimer: I own only the Hunters.

Kadessa was both the most magnificent and dreariest place I had ever seen. It was huge, for one thing, with the sort of grand architecture one would expect of the rulers of the world. At the same time, there was an air of sadness, as though the souls of those who died there were still wandering the empty streets.

"This is where the final battle was fought," Rose murmured. "Where the evil dictator Melbu Frahma met his end." She seemed lost in thought.

We fought our way through the local monsters without much trouble. The only creature that posed a problem was something Meru identified as a "spinninghead". It quickly fell to my ninja techniques.

We moved through the city via warp plates until we came to an apparent dead end. It proved far more dangerous than we thought.

"Wait!" Rose said. She pointed. "This is a Virage!"

"Not again," Lavitz groaned.

Rose moved in for a closer look. "And this scar…This must be the Virage that killed Belzac!"

Belzac?

She turned back to us. "Let's go." It wasn't that easy, however.

The Virage started to shake. It slowly rose to its full height. It was noticeably different from those that we had battled before. There was no discernable head, and it only had one arm.

"Be careful!" Rose yelled. "This is a Super Virage. It is far more powerful than a normal one!"

We transformed, and assumed our places. I glanced worriedly at Miranda; though she was obviously an experienced fighter, this was her first battle as a Dragoon. I wondered if she could handle it.

I was jolted out of my thoughts by Albert's voice. "Rose Storm!" The comforting barrier enveloped us.

Dart curled into a ball and stretched out again, wreathed in flame. "Final Burst!"

Lavitz stabbed the Virage with his spear, then twirled the weapon over his head and shoved it forward. "Wing Blaster!" A bird-shaped blast of wind smacked it.

Kongol chopped several times with his axe, then rose high into the air. "Meteor Strike!" The Virage was bombarded by falling rocks.

Haschel charged a blast of lightning in his fist. "Atomic Mind!"

Miranda pelted the thing with arrows while tossing an occasional healing spell.

Rose hurled her sword into the enemy's head. "Astral Drain!"

Meru perched on her hammer and spread her arms wide. "Diamond Dust!" The Virage was briefly trapped in ice.

Krista and I focused our power together. "Gemini Beam!" The Virage hit us with a final energy blast, then died.

"How powerful," Dart gasped.

With the Super Virage defeated, we soon found the Dragon Block Staff. Taking it wasn't so simple…

Miranda looked skeptical. "_This_ can weaken Dragons?"

Rose glanced at her. "You can't tell an object's power by its size."

"I'll get it," Meru said. She sprouted her wings and flew up to the staff. She tugged, but was unable to pull it free. "It won't move!" We soon found out why.

Krista saw it first. "We've got company!"

This creature, the Grand Jewel, was nowhere near as dangerous as the Super Virage. We took it out without bothering to transform. (Which was fortunate, given that the Dragon Block Staff would have severely weakened us in Dragoon form.) We claimed the staff and got out of Kadessa in a hurry.

When we got back to the Forest, we were met by a very agitated Blano.

"The Divine Dragon has attacked again!" he said. "I'm teleporting you to Deningrad." He failed at first, but was joined by several more Winglies, including Meru's parents, her fiancée Guaraha, and my mother. Their combined power was enough to send us on our way.

Deningrad was a mess. That was my first thought. The Divine Dragon's attack had wreaked havoc on the city. The shops had been totaled, the library was a wreck, the church was in shambles, and a big chunk was missing from the Crystal Palace. Oddly, the hotel appeared unscathed.

Miranda glared at the rest of us. "What are you waiting for!? Shana is in the palace!" She ran off before we could respond.

The inside was barely recognizable. There were holes in the walls, and rubble strewn everywhere. The Sacred Sisters were tending to injured knights.

I spoke to Setie. "Is Shana all right!?"

"I think so. She's in the throne room with Queen Theresa," she replied.

We charged into the throne room and almost went blind. The room was filled with a brilliant light, almost like a shield. It faded to reveal Shana standing in front of the Queen. She collapsed.

The Queen assured us that she was all right, so we took Shana to the hotel to rest. She was more than a little frightened.

I wandered around the city while the others made Shana comfortable. The populace seemed to be recovering from the attack, but I knew that it would be a long time before the wounds fully healed. Too many had died for it to be otherwise.

I caught up with my friends near the city entrance. "Are we ready?"

Dart nodded. "As ready as we'll ever be."

We embarked on the long journey to the Mountain of the Mortal Dragon.

The mountain turned out to be a dormant volcano. It was steep, rough and difficult to climb, but we had no choice. The Divine Dragon had to be stopped before more lives were lost.

About halfway up the ground began to shake. At the same time, there was a huge flash from the top of the mountain. Uh oh.

Rose gazed at the summit. "He is unburdening his anger, his hatred against Winglies."

Miranda looked worried. "Deningrad used to be a Wingly city. Is that why it was attacked?"

We proceeded to the summit, finding the Divine Dragon being attacked by a familiar swordsman. "Lloyd!"

My half-brother was knocked back, gasping. "He is stronger than I expected, but it is nearly over. There is no need for you to help."

"You released the most powerful Dragon, but you can't control it!?" Dart snarled.

"Forget it! We can kill him anytime!" Miranda yelled.

"So, the First Sacred Sister is the replacement for that girl. How convenient for us."

We ignored him and concentrated on the Divine Dragon. Dart tossed the Dragon Block Staff into the air, where it promptly shattered.

"Remember, don't transform!" he shouted. "Let's take him!"

This was the most powerful foe we had yet faced. Were it not for our combat experience and Kongol's immense physical strength, the Divine Dragon would probably have killed us in minutes. As it was, since we dared not use our Dragoon powers, it took us almost a full day to win the battle, and even then he refused to die.

Suddenly, Lloyd jumped off a nearby ridge, and stabbed the Dragon Buster through the Divine Dragon's eye. The Divine Dragon roared, then collapsed, releasing a glowing gem, which Lloyd caught.

Dart took a step back. "Is that…?"

"Yes. This is the Dragoon Spirit," Lloyd said. "The crystal that glows at the last moment of a Dragon's life. As I expected, it doesn't sparkle in my hand. It is merely a trophy."

I clenched my fists. "Do you have any idea what you're doing…brother?'

He stared at me in shock. "What did you call me!?"

I smiled thinly. "Brother. Or, more precisely, half-brother. It's a long story."

Lloyd vanished.

Rose cursed. "Winglies can teleport. Lloyd could be anywhere. We have to go, now!"

We caught up with Lloyd briefly, but he knocked Dart and Rose off a cliff, giving himself time to escape.

After we rescued them, I turned to Miranda. "There is no reason to hide any longer. Doesn't this country have a Wingly treasure?"

She sighed. "It is called the Moon Mirror, kept in the Tower of Flanvel."

"Flanvel?"

Rose said, "It was a Wingly fortress during the Dragon Campaign. Humans shot it out of the sky with a weapon called the Spear Shooter."

Miranda nodded. "It is trapped in Kashua Glacier. Only the Queen can open it."

I started. "That means Lloyd will be after Queen Theresa! We have to get back to Deningrad!"

With no time to waste, we transformed into Dragoons and flew to the capital. Unfortunately, we were too late; the Queen had been abducted by a man with silver hair.

We flew to the tower, but couldn't enter right away. First we had to deal with an ugly monster called the Windigo. It quickly fell to Fire magic.

We climbed the tower, using warp plates as necessary. It didn't take long, as there weren't very many.

At the top, we heard a strange sound.

"The Divine Dragoon Spirit is resonating," Rose said.

I ran for the last warp plate and entered the tower. Lloyd was just starting to turn, but I was too fast. I lunged forward, kicked the Dragon Buster out of his hand, and pressed my blade to his throat.

"One wrong move and you die," I hissed through clenched teeth.

He regarded me calmly. "Will you fight against fate, little brother?" Amazing how quickly he adjusted to our relationship.

"There's no such thing as fate!" I retorted. "And don't call me little!"

I prodded him out of the tower to where the others waited. To my surprise, Sister Wink was with them.

"Shana was taken away!" she said.

My jaw dropped. "_What!?_"

"By the man named Emperor Diaz."

"Finally. He has begun to take action by himself," Lloyd murmured.

I backhanded him across the face. "You_ idiot_! Neither you nor he had any right to take her! She was living peacefully until_ you_ torched Seles."

Wink went on, "He said to bring the Divine Moon Objects and Lloyd to Vellweb."

Dart clenched his fists. "I guess we have no choice. But Diaz isn't gonna like the results!" We all nodded agreement.

I returned the Dragon Buster to Lloyd. "You obviously don't intend to fight us, and we're certain to encounter monsters on the way to Vellweb"

Author's note: It might seem like Lloyd went down to easily, but remember that he's never faced a ninja before. D.S. 


	12. Chapter 12: Diaz and the Lost Dragoons

I own my characters, nothing else.

We headed west into the ancient region of Gloriano. It was, if possible, even colder than Mille Seseau. We were about one third of the way through a snowfield when a blizzard broke out. We ran to a nearby cave for shelter; Dart started a fire to keep us warm.

While we rested, Lloyd told us more about his doings. Three years earlier, he had met Diaz in the ruins of Kadessa. (Presumably, this was how he got the Dragon Buster.) Diaz had told him of the state of the world, of its decay. The Humans were at war, the Gigantos virtually extinct, and the Winglies' magic power was deteriorating. Lloyd told us of the Moon Child, which would rejuvenate the world.

"That's not true," Rose said flatly.

Lloyd cocked an eyebrow. "It is the truth. Why else would the Black Monster continue to kill the Moon Child?"

Rose said nothing.

Dart grabbed Lloyd by the collar. "Why did you have Shana kidnapped!? What is she to you!?"

Lloyd shrugged. "The rest will be told by Diaz."

The next morning, we went on our way to Vellweb. The place reminded me of Kadessa: grand, yet sad.

Lloyd gestured to a tower in the distance. "That is the tower of the seven Dragoons. The throne of the Holy Emperor is at its base. That is where we must go."

We went down the stairs to the base of the tower. The first thing we saw was Shana lying unconscious.

Dart ran forward, only to have her float out of reach. "Shana!!"

A robed and masked man appeared in a bubble of light. This must be Diaz.

My suspicions were confirmed when Lloyd spoke to the man. "Diaz, here are the Divine Moon Objects. There are no more obstacles to hinder our utopia. Release the girl."

Diaz nodded. "Fine." Dart caught Shana as she drifted down.

I knelt beside her and muttered a Wingly incantation. She glowed briefly, then woke up.

Rose was speaking to Diaz. "If you are the true Diaz, you should know what this implies."

He nodded. "Total destruction."

Lloyd gaped. "What!?"

The Emperor said, "Lloyd, you have done well. Now the last species we desire, the God of Destruction, will be born."

Rose turned to Lloyd. "Lloyd, he showed you a false utopia from the beginning."

Lloyd drew the Dragon Buster. "My utopia exists in the future of the world, not its destruction!" he shouted.

Diaz shrugged. "I don't need you anymore." He pointed his staff and began charging a spell.

I recognized the effect instantly. You won't kill my brother, Diaz. I pointed my sword at Lloyd and yelled, "Wake up! _Dragoon of the Divine Dragon!!_"

"What the!?" The Dragoon Spirit glowed painfully bright, and there stood Lloyd as the Divine Dragoon. His armor was much bulkier than the others', save perhaps Kongol, and had massive wings. He turned to me. "Why did you…?"

I smiled. "Like it or not, you're my brother. Besides, I figured you'd want a chance to atone for your actions."

Diaz ignored this interchange. "Now I can tell you everything." He slowly removed his mask. "It's been a while. Rose. Dart." He was a blond, blue-eyed man who bore an uncanny resemblance to our leader.

Dart went bone-white. "_Father!?_"

That's Zieg Feld!?

Rose wore an expression that mixed agony with disbelief. "Oh, it cannot be!!"

Zieg then began a lecture regarding the fate of the world. I tuned out most of it, preferring to ensure Shana's safety. I did, however, hear him talk about his and Rose's role in the Dragon Campaign.

So that's how Rose knows so much about it. She was there.

After revealing the true nature of the Moon Child, Zieg said, "One Dragoon knew of the prophecy. Every 108 years she has killed the Moon Child and those around it. She was even called a demon." He pointed at Rose. "That is the true self of Rose---the Black Monster!"

Dart nearly had a heart attack. "Rose!?"

Rose spoke quietly. "The Moon Child has to be killed. And the people around it, too, before they become servants of the God of Destruction."

"Neet, too!?"

She sighed. "For eleven thousand years, there have been no exceptions."

Zieg was about to say something else, but I cut him off. "I know what you're going to say next, Zieg. Shana is the Moon Child. Or perhaps I should say, was."

He glared at me accusingly. "What did you do!?"

I smiled coldly. "I drove out the soul of the Virage Embryo. While she retains most of her powers, she is no longer of any use to you."

Zieg laughed. "You haven't beaten me yet!" He vanished.

Shana looked at me. "How did you manage it?"

"Krista and I are half Wingly," I replied. "I used that power to save you. Oh, yes, and Lloyd is our half-brother." Shana's eyes widened at my last comment, then she nodded.

"Thank you."

Suddenly, the White Silver Dragoon Spirit seemed to split in two, just as the Jade had at Hellena Prison. The extra Spirit lowered itself around Shana's neck.

Rose provided an explanation. "Shana, I believe that the Spirit left you because of your connection to the Virage Embryo. Since Kyle drove out the Virage soul, it considers you worthy again. Now you can rejoin us."

Dart stepped forward. "Rose and Lloyd were considered evil, once, but I believe that both were innocent from the beginning. Rose had a terrible duty, and Lloyd thought that he was doing right, but he was tricked. I would like them both to fight with us, to end this madness." He drew his sword and held it up in ritual salute. "Friends till the end."

Shana's bow and Haschel's gloved fist came up. Then Albert and Lavitz with their spears. Next Miranda's bow. After her, a hammer and a huge axe. Then a pair of katanas. Finally, Rose's rapier and the Dragon Buster.

While the others conferred, I decided to explore Vellweb. The city, once a magnificent capital, was now a mere historic ruin, just like Kadessa. Things were not always what they seemed, however, as I found out when exploring the tower of the seven Dragoons.

I climbed into the first tower and stopped dead. Inside, it was pristine, in stark contrast to the rubble outside. The room was dominated by a fountain, which spilled over onto the floor. The Water Dragoon must have lived here.

"Where is everyone? I don't like to be alone," came a plaintive voice.

I spun around, reflexively drawing my sword, and came face to face with the most exotic-looking girl I had ever laid eyes on. She wore armor identical to Meru's, showing that she was a Dragoon, but there was something ethereal about her. She had sea-green hair and pointed ears, showing that she wasn't entirely human.

I finally found my voice. "Who are you?"

"I'm Damia, the Blue Sea Dragoon," she answered. "What are you doing here?"

"Exploring."

"I don't believe you!" She attacked.

I jumped back, transforming in the same instant. A fight with a ghost. Just what I don't need. Knowing her weakness, I threw my sword into the air and charged a fireball in front of my chest. "Flameshot!"

Damia recoiled from the attack, then perched on her hammer. I recognized the stance instantly. Uh oh.

"Diamond Dust!"

"Oof!" I staggered, almost falling to the ground. Good grief, she's fast! If only- My thoughts were cut off by a hammerblow to the head. Had I not been in Dragoon form, it would have crushed my skull, killing me. As it was, Damia had me seeing stars, giving her an opening to deliver a kick to my solar plexus. Fortunately, it had little effect, thanks to my armor. 

"Enough nonsense." I decided to use the Fire spell I had in place of Dart's Red-Eye Dragon. "Rebirth Flame!!!"

It was like being caught in a blast furnace. The flames obscured everything for a moment, then I saw Damia sprawled on the floor.

I frowned. Shouldn't she have vanished?

I landed and morphed out of my Dragoon armor. I knelt and gently lifted her torso onto my knees, feeling her neck.

My jaw fell open. What the!? She has a pulse!?

Damia groaned and slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at me fearfully. "What…are you…?"

I placed one hand on her forehead. "It's all right. I won't hurt you."

"Who are you?"

I smiled. "My name is Kyle Hunter. I'm a friend of Rose."

"You know Rose?" Damia relaxed visibly. "How did you bring me back to life?"

"I'm not sure." I thought for a moment, then snapped my fingers. "Of course! Rebirth Flame! It must be a reviving spell." I glanced down at her. "It isn't what I was trying to do, but I'm glad it worked anyway."

She grinned impishly. "Thanks. By the way, I've never seen armor like that. Which Dragoon are you?"

"There are actually two of us," I replied. "My sister Krista and myself. We are the Star Dragoons, who have no element per se. Krista has Darkness magic, while I have Fire, as you found out. We also have a nasty team-up attack called Gemini Beam." I paused. "Before you get too friendly, I should tell you that I'm half Wingly."

Damia shrugged. "We had Wingly allies during the war. I think we'll get along okay."

"Great." I hesitated. "You're not going to like what's happening. We have to fight a man who was once your friend. Zieg Feld."

"Zieg!? Zieg is fighting us!?"

I nodded. "I don't know what he's thinking. Rose is even more perplexed."

She was silent for a moment. "Who are the new Dragoons?" she asked at last.

"Our leader, the Dragoon of the Red-Eye Dragon, is Zieg's son, Dart. There are two Wind Dragoons: Albert, the King of Serdio, and Sir Lavitz Slambert, head of the First Knighthood. Also two Light Dragoons: Dart's girlfriend Shana, and Miranda, the First Sacred Sister of Mille Seseau. The Earth Dragoon is a Giganto named Kongol. For Thunder, we have Dart's maternal grandfather, Haschel. Your successor, the Dragoon of Water, is a Wingly, Meru. Oh, yes, we also have the Divine Dragoon."

Damia looked at me in shock. "Divine Dragoon!?"

I grinned at her expression. "Yep. My half-brother, Lloyd. He also has the Dragon Buster, so you don't have to worry about being hit with that."

She looked stunned. Finally she asked, "Will it be possible for you to revive the others?"

I shrugged. "Probably. It's certainly worth a try. We need all the help we can get. Who should be my next target?"

Damia considered. "Syuveil, the Jade Dragoon. He's a scholarly type, always poring over ancient manuscripts."

I laughed. "Another intellectual. Albert's gonna love that. Okay, Syuveil it is."

We climbed the steps to Syuveil's tower. Inside was a bespectacled man in the armor of the Jade Dragoon.

I laughed to myself. They already had eyeglasses that long ago?

"Hi, Syu," Damia said brightly.

He looked up. "Hello, Damia. I see you've brought a guest."

"Uh huh. This is Kyle Hunter, a friend of Rose."

"Indeed." Syuveil looked at me. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise." I sketched out the situation as I had for Damia. When I had finished, he was shaking his head in amazement. "So it looks like you'll have to die again before you can live again," I concluded.

"So be it," he replied. "Defeat me, and I will help you."

We sprang into the air for the first pass. He had a longer reach with his spear, but I was significantly faster. Syuveil's first strike missed cleanly, while I caught him in the arm with my katana, making him grunt.

"You're good." He spun his weapon in front of his face. "Gaspless!"

I dodged the attack and replied with my top Fire spell. "Rebirth Flame!" He dropped like a sack of cement.

Syuveil picked himself up. "Thank you, Kyle."

I grinned. "No problem."

Next on the list was Kanzas, the Violet Dragoon. As I entered his tower, Syuveil warned me to be careful.

"Kanzas isn't a nice person," he said. "He lives to kill. Watch yourself."

Kanzas's room was faintly disturbing. The walls were lined with some sort of dolls.

Kanzas appeared out of nowhere. "Who are you!?"

I sighed. "My name is Kyle Hunter, and I'm here to bring you back to life so that you can help us stop Zieg from causing the birth of the God of Destruction. Let's have it out so I can get out of this creepy room."

"These dolls remind me of blood dripping from my fist," he snarled. "I don't need to answer to you!" He charged lightning in his fist, as I had seen Haschel do several times. "Atomic Mind!"

I smiled thinly. "Nice try. Star Flare!"

"Gaa!" He was slammed against the far wall. He recovered quickly. "Thunder God Attack!"

We traded spells for about an hour, then I finished it. "Rebirth Flame!"

"Fine," he grunted. "I'll join you."

Syuveil decided to accompany me for the fight with Belzac. "Belzac is the strongest of the lost Dragoons," he explained. "You'll likely need my Wind magic."

We ran into Shirley at the base of Belzac's tower. When I explained what I was up to, she was delighted.

"Thank you, Kyle," she said. "Of course, I'll help, too."

I grinned. "I'll bet Rose has a heart attack when she finds out."

Belzac was the only human I'd ever seen who was as big as Kongol. His axe made me nervous.

"Syuveil? Who is this?" he asked.

"A friend of Rose," Syuveil answered. "But we can't explain quite yet." With that, he climbed into the air. "Rose Storm!"

I moved within seconds. "Flameshot!" I had to keep dodging to avoid his strikes.

After at least four hours, Belzac fell in defeat. "Yes. I will lend you my strength."

I led the Dragoons to our campsite near the Spear Shooter. Rose nearly fainted when she saw my companions. "Kyle…how did you…?"

I shrugged. "Damia was by accident. The others were at her request. Are you complaining?"

She shook her head. "No, of course not. It's just such a shock." Rose looked at her old friends. "It's good to see you again, everyone."

Rose and I took turns introducing the new Dragoons, then I went to bed. 

Author's note: Three chapters to go. I'm finishing the upload all at once, so please tell me what you think of any chapter. D.S. 


	13. Chapter 13: The Signets

The Hunters are mine, the rest is Sony's.

Once we had finished our business in Vellweb, we began the long trek through the Death Frontier. Having grown accustomed to Mille Seseau's cold climate, the endless sands of the Death Frontier came as an unpleasant surprise. Add the presence of some very annoying monsters, and this leg of the trip was as miserable as you could imagine.

"Don't we _ever_ get a break from these creatures?" Lavitz groaned, impaling a sandworm.

I chopped a dragonfly in half, then tossed a throwing knife into a scorpion. "It beats fighting Virages, doesn't it?" I replied, retrieving the knife. "Would one of you Wind Dragoons take care of those blasted beetles?"

"I'm on it." Syuveil morphed and took to the air. "Wing Blaster!"

After a long day of walking and fighting, we made camp at an oasis. The presence of water was a welcome change, especially for Meru and Damia, who hated deserts.

"We'll need a fire," Rose said. "It can get quite cold here at night."

Dart started a campfire, and we all gathered around. I didn't need to get very close, given my background. I sat by myself against a rock, absorbed in my thoughts. We've come a long way.

"Are they going to talk all night!?" came a young voice.

I looked up. "Damia? What are you talking about?"

"Them." She gestured to where Albert and Syuveil were engaged in a deep conversation. "It's like they don't know that the rest of us are here."

I chuckled. "They probably will talk all night. Albert will talk your ears off for days on end, and Syuveil likely wants someone to talk to after eleven thousand years."

Damia laughed and plopped down next to me. "That's Syuveil." She paused. "What's your world like?"

I gazed sightlessly into the distance. "It's more advanced technologically than this one, and there's more people. However, Humans are the only intelligent species there. That doesn't mean that we don't have war, though. People are people, regardless of species." I was silent for a moment. "It's not really 'my' world anymore. My parents have moved to Bale, so I don't really have any reason to go anywhere else." I hesitated. "You're obviously not entirely human. May I ask what your other half is?"

"Mermaid."

I raised my eyebrows. "That's a new one. Not that there's anything wrong with it, of course."

She smiled. "Thanks. See you in the morning."

The next day found us at a rocky outcropping. Aside from that, the landscape was as featureless as ever. I couldn't figure out what was so special about the area.

Rose removed a piece of jewelry. "Time was stopped for me eleven thousand years ago, by the spell of this choker," she said. "And this is the only way to see Ulara, the Spring Breath Town." She held up the choker, revealing Ulara with its magic. "Let's go."

We stepped onto a nearby warp plate and found ourselves in an entirely different place. Ulara contrasted breathtakingly with the surrounding desert. While the Death Frontier was barren, aside from the occasional oasis, there was water everywhere in this town. I assumed that it was made by magic, given the terrain.

Our first stop was the house of Charle Frahma, sister of the infamous Wingly dictator. While I had heard that she led the Dragoons' Wingly allies during the Dragon Campaign, I have to say that she didn't look the part. Far from appearing as some charismatic leader, Charle looked like a classic little old lady, minus the wrinkles.

Charle greeted Rose in a manner that made the Dark Dragoon look like she wanted to put a fist through the wall. She then wanted to be introduced to Zieg's son.

Rose waved a hand at our leader. "This is Dart."

Charle peered at him. "You have the same eyes as our Zieggy."

Zieggy?

I stepped forward. "Let's get to the point. What are these Divine Moon Objects for?"

Charle sighed. "I didn't want to make them, but Melbu insisted. He wanted to break the seal on the moon any time he wanted to."

"So the Signets are the seal for the moon?" I pressed, and got a confirming nod. "Where are they?"

"There were originally five, one for each of the great cities," Charle said. "There are only three left now. The one in Kadessa was destroyed in the war, and the one in the Crystal Palace was destroyed when the Divine Dragon assaulted Deningrad. The remaining Signets are in the Magical City Aglis, Law City Zenebatos, and Death City Mayfil."

"Where should we go, now?" Dart asked.

"Go to Rouge," Charle replied. "You can make the journey from there."

"Rouge?" repeated Haschel. "That's my home village!"

The Wingly smiled. "See, your way is already open."

I headed out on my own to explore the city, as usual. It was the first time in quite a while that I could wander without fear of being attacked by some ugly creature with a really stupid name, so I intended to relax while I had the chance. I morphed and flew to the top of a building. I decided it was the perfect place for stargazing.

What a night, I thought. It makes me realize just how fragile the world can be. We can't let Zieg have his way.

"There you are."

I turned, fluttering my wings. "Damia? Have you been shadowing me?"

She shook her head. "I asked Krista where to look."

I raised my eyebrows. "You've been talking to my sister?"

Damia chuckled. "Yeah. She's told me a lot about you. Like that party in Fletz."

I snorted. "You mean the one where I spent most of the night standing against a wall looking morose? Great. You're crazier than Meru, and that takes talent." I sighed. "Oh, well. She's been badgering me about having fun for years. It figures that she'd enlist the aid of someone like you."

She smiled. "Krista didn't ask me for help. I did this on my own. You really should have a little fun with life."

"Oh, please. I enjoy my life. I just don't like to be undignified. Besides, we have a job to do."

"What if you get yourself killed!?"

"What do you care?"

"Kyle, I love you!"

I almost fell off the roof in surprise. I was only able to maintain my balance by flapping my wings. "You…you…what did you just say!?"

Damia grinned. "Do I have to repeat myself?" She stepped closer.

We kissed, then I shook my head. "I can hardly wait for Haschel to hear about this," I moaned.

She looked puzzled. "What's wrong with that?"

"He's the king of rude questions. He'll never let me hear the end of it. And Meru's going to be even worse. She spies on people." I then felt eyes on my back.

I spun around. "_Meru!?_ You _insane_ little Wingly! _Flameshot!!!_" The fireball chased Meru down the street.

I groaned. "Great. Just great. So much for my image."

"What do you mean?"

"Rose is the only Dragoon who's more cold-blooded than I am. And now Meru's gonna tell everyone that I've fallen for a hyperactive teenager! At least we're close in age, discounting the eleven millennia you spent in a tower." Another thought struck me. "And, of course, Krista will twit me about this for the rest of my life."

The fallout wasn't as bad as I feared. Haschel was rude, as usual, but Rose shut him up quickly enough. Meru was more difficult. She kept pestering me until I screamed at her to shut up.

"Look, people change, okay!?" I finally burst out. That took care of that.

We made our way to the teleporter and found it surrounded by Winglies.

Dart was puzzled. "Charle, what is this?"

She laughed. "Oh, naïve boy, it's a sendoff. You folks are going to save the world." Charle looked at each of us in turn. "Everyone must survive, okay?" We nodded.

The teleporter was activated, sending us to the Home of Gigantos. The place hadn't changed since our last visit, save for the absence of bandits. It had a much more wholesome feel.

We sped through the Valley of Corrupted Gravity in record time, then did the same in the Barrens. We traveled in Dragoon form to save time, as we had to reach the Signets before Zieg did. If we failed, the world was doomed.

After exchanging a few words with King Zior in Fletz, we embarked on the _Queen Fury_ for the trip to Rouge. Haschel grew more and more excited as we neared the shore.

"I haven't been home in twenty years," he explained.

The villagers were ecstatic to see Haschel again. What struck me as odd was that none of them wore armor. I questioned on of them about it.

"We don't need armor," he replied. "We don't have monsters here."

Dart spoke to the village leader. "Have you seen anything unusual here? Anything that Humans couldn't have built?"

"A structure of the ancient Winglies," Rose added.

The mayor looked at is blankly. "Hold on, you've lost me here. What's a Wingly?"

I jerked my thumb at Meru and Lloyd. "They're Winglies."

Haschel gave a more detailed explanation, then the local martial arts teacher spoke up. "How about that stick in the ocean? Humans couldn't have built that."

We rushed to the shore and saw what looked like a large building, only much more ornate.

"That wasn't here twenty years ago," Haschel murmured.

Rose frowned. "It must be Aglis. Zieg will probably come here first."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. At the same time, a whirlpool that had surrounded Aglis disappeared. The sea split into a corridor leading to the Wingly city.

Krista pointed at the new path. "This should get us to Aglis."

Inside the city was dripping wet. Everything seemed to have the same bluish color. There was a feeling of watchfulness.

Damia shivered. I glanced at her. "Are you all right?"

"I remember fighting here. My magic didn't do much good because all my opponents had my element. I almost died."

I squeezed her shoulder. "It shouldn't be so nasty, this time." The city shook. "What was that?"

Kongol looked back. "The sea closed. We can't go back."

"Someone's playing hardball," Rose muttered.

We soon encountered a small creature. "I'm Ruff, ruff. Ruff doesn't want to be here, but he has a message, ruff. 'Welcome to the heroes fated to be here. Welcome to Rose, who…" Ruff spun once. "I forgot the rest."

Predictably, Miranda got very angry. "Are you on Zieg's side!? Tell me, or I'll mess you up!"

"'Mess you up'? Ruff hasn't seen it and doesn't know, ruff. Show it to Ruff, ruff. It sounds like some rough stuff, ruff."

I shook my head. "You're wasting your time, Miranda. This magic thing can't say much." She looked on the verge of apoplexy, but Shana calmed her.

Ruff turned around. "That's all I have to say, ruff. All is for the sake of the Psychedelic Bomb and Moot, ruff. Ruff is going, ruff. It's rough, ruff."

We moved deeper into the city, killed every monster unfortunate enough to run into us, got a message from a Wingly named Savan, and finally came to a strange chamber.

Savan appeared out of nowhere. Tall, brown skinned, and bald, he had an air of decay around him, as though he was already dead but hadn't noticed yet. He asked for our courage to power a magic weapon, the Psychedelic Bomb. To that end, he gave us each a challenge; mine was too pointless to record, suffice it to say I passed it.

We caught up with him and received a more powerful weapon than expected: the Psychedelic Bomb X.

Moot proved to be a new Signet, which would permanently seal the Moon That Never Sets. Unfortunately, the Last Kraken, which guarded it, went berserk, thanks to Zieg. It took hours, but we were finally able to destroy it.

Savan teleported us out, but died soon after. We proceeded to a warp plate, and teleported to the Law City Zenebatos.

I viewed the Law City as just another ruin, but Albert seemed fascinated.

"I would like to know how the Winglies governed," he said. "But it seems that Zenebatos is malfunctioning."

His words were confirmed when a heartless magic drone appeared, spouted some gibberish, and left.

Despite the presence of Meru and Lloyd, we couldn't get to the Signet Sphere right away. First, we had to go to the Legislation Center and revise the law, then take it back to the drone that was blocking our way, then we could finally get where we needed to go.

We arrived at the Great Court, only to find that Zieg had already tampered with the city. The judge sentenced us to death, but our Light Dragoons made short work of the three executioners. We got to the chamber, but were too late. Zieg appeared, berated us for a few minutes, and vanished. 

We used the entrance teleporter to get to the Death City Mayfil.

I am not exaggerating when I say that Mayfil was the creepiest place I have had the dubious pleasure of visiting. Everything was dark and dreary, covered in shadow. The city had an aura of despair, as if the very souls were crying out. Rose had bad memories of the place.

"This was the last Wingly city we destroyed prior to Kadessa," she said. "We wanted to stop them from playing with souls."

No monsters that I had encountered previously made my skin crawl like the undead. It was like fighting cadavers; they just kept coming. It took hours to kill them all.

Deep inside, we found souls of Rose's many victims. They recognized her instantly, but were driven off when her Dragoon Spirit started to glow.

"I cannot die now," she whispered.

In the next room, we found the soul of Dart's mother. She seemed to react to him, revitalizing us.

I shook my head in disbelief. "This place makes the Phantom Ship look cheerful. I will be very glad to leave."

We took a warp plate on the far side of the room, and came face to face with a demon, no doubt it was he who was causing this madness.

"Who are you!?" Dart demanded.

"My name is Zackwell," came the reply. "I rule here now, and you won't get to the Signet Sphere."

"We'll see about that!" Shirley retorted. "White Silver Dragon!!"

Dart and I leaped into the air, using the same spell. "Final Burst!" The demon was incinerated.

Rose said, "We have no time to celebrate! We have to get to the Signet!"

We got there and found the room deserted. Are we in time?

Dart clenched his fist. "Let's finish it here!"

"I agree." Zieg's voice. "I'll finish the world here."

Dart transformed. "I won't let you!" He charged, but was knocked back.

"Don't come near me," Zieg growled.

He hurled the Moon gem into the Signet, causing a huge explosion. When it faded, Zieg had left and the Moon was falling.

"Is it over!?" Rose asked in despair.

"No." Dart stood up. "The Signet has been destroyed, but we are still here! We will change fate!!"

A flying creature swooped in: Coolon, the wings of Savan. We hopped on, and were swiftly born to the Divine Tree, where the Moon awaited.

Author's note: Sorry for the lack of detail in the Wingly cities. The word processor insisted on crashing while I was writing that section, and I wasn't in the mood to rewrite it. D.S. 


	14. Chapter 14: The Moon That Never Sets

Same disclaimer.

The flight to the Divine Tree was the wildest of my life. Coolon was moving at top speed, we were crowded together, and the Moon was releasing Virages like crazy. They immediately started firing, clipping one of Coolon's wings. He fell to the ground.

"I don't think I can fly anymore," said Coolon. With that, he closed his eyes forever.

I stood up. "We have no tome to grieve. We have to stop Zieg, or everything we have gone through will be meaningless! Let's get to the Moon!"

We raced up the tree, killing everything in our path, and annihilated a large insect at the top. With its death, we had access to the Moon itself. It wasn't what we expected.

I looked around in shock. "What the!? A plain!? Are we back on the ground!?"

Rose shook her head. "The Moon is showing us this. I don't know why."

We came to a forest resembling one near Miranda's home. She left to take care of something personal, but soon returned. The same happened with Haschel, when we came to a recreation of Bale.

Albert scanned the area. "I believe that this is Bale twenty years ago, just after my uncle took over. This is very strange."

We made our way into an area obviously designed for Winglies, as there was a Wingly palace in the distance. Much to my dismay, we weren't alone. A Dragon swooped in on us.

Rose was in shock. "That was…Michael! My Dragon. He was with me for more than ten thousand years!"

The Dragon attacked again, scattering us and knocking me out. When I came to, I was in a dojo, my family's dojo to be exact. It didn't look quite right, though.

"So you are here."

I spun around, drawing my blade. Before me stood my grandfather, looking about thirty, with a sword in his hand. He was dressed in a similar outfit to mine, though it was rather worn.

My eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"

"To show my son how wrong he was to marry someone from another species," he replied.

"You're not my grandfather. He never says such idiotic things." I attacked, taking him down with a single blow.

I caught up with the others near the core. Everyone seemed all right, if a little tired. Shana looked like she'd seen a ghost, while Meru seemed a bit beat-up.

A blue streak slammed into me. "Kyle!"

I hugged her. "Hi, Damia. Sorry I made you worry." I glanced at Dart. "Everyone okay?"

"Yeah. Now we end this."

We made it into the core and spotted another obstacle. "Oh, great. A Super Virage."

Dart drew his sword. "I don't care. Let's take this thing!!"

We transformed en masse and attacked. I soon lost track of everything but my own moves. I slashed the Virage repeatedly, leaving bloody gashes. I chopped off its arm, then jerked back as it shot at me.

"Divine Dragon Cannon!!"

"Whoa!" I dodged the beam that went past my right ear. I turned to glare at Lloyd. "Would you please aim a little better, next time?"

Lloyd's attack was more than the Virage could handle. It roared, then collapsed.

We were almost to the Virage Embryo when Zieg showed up again. I saw Dart's Dragoon Spirit glow. Oh, great. Dragoon twinning. Just what we don't need.

Rose gaped. "The Spirit still recognizes you!?"

Zieg smirked. "Of course it does. Now it ends."

Zieg sent a fireball at Dart, but it had no effect due to Dart's armor. Meru and Damia combined their powers and almost drowned Zieg in a tidal wave. Haschel gave him a few kicks.

I grabbed Krista's arm. "We have to take him now!"

"Got it. Gemini Beam!!"

Zieg looked over his shoulder at the Virage Embryo. "It's time. I no longer need this flesh." His eyes glowed green as he crumpled to the ground. From his body came a spirit that quickly assumed a recognizable shape.

"Melbu Frahma!" Rose spat the name. "But Zieg killed you!"

Melbu laughed. "He killed my body, but not my spirit. I cast a petrification spell on him and sealed my soul in the Dragoon Spirit."

Dart was enraged. "How long have you been manipulating my father!?" he demanded.

"Since the Black Monster attacked Neet. The fool tried to release his powers, not knowing that I was waiting for that moment. Now, I will become a god."

Lloyd snorted. "A god? Don't make me laugh."

Dart brandished his weapon. "We are the Dragoons! We will never let you win!" We took that as the signal to strike.

Albert cast his Rose Storm barrier first thing, knowing that this would take a while. Lloyd stood off and fired cannon blasts whenever he got an opening. The rest of us hacked away at Melbu however we could. He changed forms at least three times, each form giving us new headaches. His second form trapped Rose, who was released when I slashed her prison. The last was the nastiest. We had to kill him quickly, because he had the magic of the Dragon Block Staff.

Melbu took one more cannon shot. "How dare you!? Inferior Humans cannot defeat me, a god."

Rose landed next to Zieg. "Rose…I've kept you waiting…for so long. This is the end of our journey. Will you come with me?"

The Dark Dragoon smiled. "Yes. I will never leave you again."

Zieg turned to his son. "Dart. I was never a proper father to you. Please forgive me."

"Dad! I've just met you! It's not fair!"

As they flew into the center, we heard Rose's voice. "Dart, I'm glad I met you. Thank you."

I yelled. "Come on! It's going to blow! We have to get out of here!"

We flew as fast as we could through the Moon, dodging falling debris and flotsam. We shot out, one after another, nearly colliding. The Moon shrank to a point, then exploded.

Dart cried out. "Rose!!! Father!!!"

Author's note: Not much detail, I know, but this is the first story I've actually finished. D.S. 


	15. Chapter 15: Epilogue

I don't own this stuff.

I heard a sniffling nearby. I turned and saw Damia, tears streaming down her cheeks. Sheathing my sword, I gently embraced the young Dragoon. "It's over," I whispered.

Haschel pointed to the north. "Look!"

I followed his gaze and saw two streaks of light, one dark blue and one crimson, heading our way. They quickly resolved into two familiar Dragoons. "Rose! Zieg!"

Dart flew over and hugged his father. "Dad! You're alive!"

Zieg chuckled. "We weren't ready to die yet."

Dart laughed happily and turned to the rest of us. "It's over, everyone. What do we do now?" He paused. "Albert and Lavitz will be returning to Serdio, and Miranda to Mille Seseau. Shana and I intend to rebuild Seles. What about the rest of you?"

Kanzas glowered. "I'm going to Lohan. I don't think I'll find a challenge anywhere else."

Dart shrugged. "I see. Lloyd?"

My half-brother smiled. "I will be resuming my role as Albert's advisor. This time, I won't be hatching any plots."

Dart chuckled. "Kyle?"

"Krista and I are going back to Bale. That's where our family is now."

"I'm with Kyle!" Damia, naturally.

The young Fire Dragoon shook his head. "Haschel?"

Haschel grinned. "Kongol and I will go to Rouge, for now."

"Shirley?"

The oldest Light Dragoon hovered next to Belzac. "Belzac and I will travel over Serdio to help those hurt by the war."

"Syuveil?"

The bespectacled Dragoon shrugged. "Deningrad, at first. I want to see the library."

"Rose?"

She smiled. "Your father and I will help to rebuild Seles. We have a lot to talk about."

Albert raised his spear. "Before all that, let's go to Bale for the celebration."

We all took to the sky and flew for Serdio. Little did I realize that my world-hopping days were far from over…

Author's note: The sequel will be a crossover with Final Fantasy 8. I like Legend of Dragoon crossovers; I have four of them in progress: the aforementioned sequel, one with Final Fantasy 7, one with Final Fantasy 9, and one with Suikoden 2. Please read and review. D.S. 


End file.
